


When it Rains

by Anotsukai



Category: Wolverine And The X-Men (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:03:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4485915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anotsukai/pseuds/Anotsukai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Brotherhood decide to borrow an X-man for a mission, they would never expect it to have a unique affect on one of their own, causing the mutant to do the unthinkable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Left behind yet again. Forge sighs as he grabs his tool box and heads to the security room. The rest of the X-men had just taken the Blackbird, which he had just finished the repairs and upgrades that morning, for another mission. One that had no need for him. So Logan gave him a list of minor repairs to keep him busy.

Most were in the exercise room, known as the Danger room. With as much work as he has done in this room, he has considered this to be his room. Yes he had a bedroom up on the second floor but he has rarely been up there. A few hours at night when he finally collapses into his bed is the most he is in there.

Most of his time though, he ends up in this massive room. Or at least in the observation room that monitors the activities. Which is where he is headed to now. Apparently Kitty had somehow phased through the console again. Third time this week. You would think that the others would keep her away from any computer like device if they want things to remain in working order.

But who was he to complain? It gave him something to do. Made him at less some what useful. Who wouldn't want to be useful to the coolest super team there is? Specially when your own mutant power isn't all that special.

Forge shakes his head. He doesn't want to dwell on this again. He doesn't want to feel how insignificant he really is. He has a task to do. Therefore, he's needed. None of the others could do the job. He sighs and stops outside the Danger room door. Maybe none of the others can do the job but a random repair man could.

Giving in to his depressing mood, he sets the box down and walks back the way he came. Within minutes he is walking down the hallway, heading to the room he rarely uses. He opens the bedroom door and walks in, not bothering to close it behind him. He continues walking through the spotless room, nearly bare of any personal items such as books, posters, or family photos in golden frames. The only personal touch is a dirty oil rag on the back of a chair and a few tools on the desk.

'A ghost lives in this room,' he thinks bitterly. He stops in front of the balcony doors and grabs the red curtains. He pulls them back with such force, he's surprised they didn't rip. He opens the doors and steps out onto the balcony.

The reason for his depressing state pours over him. He lifts his head and looks at the dark grey clouds above him. He remembers hearing that there is a possibility of thunder storms. Maybe it will start while he is standing out here, letting the rain drench his uniform. For whatever reason, the rain always depresses him.

After a few minutes, he walks over to the balcony railing and looks out to the enclosed property. On a sunny day, one could see the emerald colored grass and Ororo's gorgeous array of flowers in every shade of color you could think of. The main piece was the grand fountain that the driveway wraps around. The water would sparkle from the sun's rays. But today it looked murky. The flowers were bending over from the weight of the rain. Even the grass appeared dull. Forge crouches down and rests his chin on his arms, losing himself to his thoughts.

Unaware that on the stone fence, a pair of amber eyes were watching him. A head cocks in confusion, sending black dreadlocks that are heavy with rain to fall into his face. Mindlessly, a green hand brushes them out of the way.

"Toad, do I have to remind you that we're getting soaked here?" An annoyed voice asks from behind him.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry Pietro. There's just one guy," Toad reports.

"Well, who is it?" Pietro asks.

"I don't know! Never seen him before," Toad replies.

"Then describe him for us," Pietro says and Toad swears he could hear the white haired mutant roll his eyes.

"He looks like an average guy. Except he has a metal leg. Will it rust in this rain?" Toad wonders out loud.

"That's Forge. He's their engineer, mechanic, and repair man. He's the one you're looking for," Domino shares. 

"Why are we looking for him?" Toad asks, shifting to look at his team mates.

"Don't worry about that Toad. Blob, open the gate," Quicksilver orders.

Toad barely has time to hop down from the wall before Blob crashes through it.

Meanwhile, Forge decides that he has enough of the rain and goes to go back inside when two things happen simultaneously. One was his mechanical arm beginning to beep with a flashing red light, notifying him that the grounds security is detecting a security breech. The second was a loud crashing sound. He hurries back to the balcony railing and looks out.

There, towards the far right is where something burst through the stone wall. Someone he realizes when he spots the large Brotherhood mutant. He watches in horror as the other Brotherhood mutants come in through the hole, Domino blasting at the laser guns and Toad spitting at the security cameras. He see's a blur dash towards the mansion followed by Avalanche who starts the ground shaking, successfully scrambling the ground security.

Feeling his stomach sink, Forge turns around and runs through his room. He races down the hall and nearly falls down the stairs. He hopes the security will slow them down long enough for him to reach the elevator that will take him to the security room. He hits the elevator button and for just a moment he thinks he's going to make it as the door opens.

But to his surprise, the elevator isn't empty. Looking at him is the leader of the Brotherhood, Quicksilver he recalls.

"Going somewhere?" The white haired man asks him.

Forge takes a half step back before he feels something pressed against the back of his head. Slowly he turns around, finding himself looking down the barrel of a gun. He swallows as his eyes focus on the holder of the gun.

"Don't move X-man," Domino threatens.

Forge gives a nervous smile and raises his arms in surrender. He really wishes he had done those repairs in the Danger Room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 2
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, Forge finds himself being shoved down the remaining steps that lead into a basement. He stumbles but manages to keep from falling on his face. He feels someone rush past him and when he looks, he finds Quicksilver standing with his cocky smile next to a wooden chair.

"Here, take a seat," Quicksilver offers.

Avalanche gives Forge an encouraging shove and Forge accepts the hint. He walks forward and sits down in the chair. As soon as he is seated, he feels a breeze like wind blow around him before it stops as suddenly as it starts. Looking down, he finds a chain wrapped around him, restraining him to the chair.

"It seems a bit excessive but well, we can't risk you breaking loose with that metal arm of yours. Speaking of metal parts," Quicksilver comments.

Forge starts to feel uneasy when he suddenly feels an absence. His heart start to pound as he looks down. His eyes widen at the empty space where his mechanical leg was. He looks up just in time to see Quicksilver pass the false leg to Avalanche. Quicksilver turns and smiles wickedly at Forge.

"Just a precaution. In case you can break out of that," Quicksilver explains with a shrug.

Forge ignores him and watches Avalanche carry his artificial limb up the stairs. His mind is still stunned concerning the loss of his limb. When Quicksilver moves slowly towards him, he can't help but cringe back, suddenly afraid that the leader of the Brotherhood is going to take his arm after all.

"Easy. You will get your leg back once you complete a little project for me. It's nothing big. And I heard that you are the man for the job," Quicksilver comments before disappearing and reappearing, sitting in a chair before him.

"You kidnapped me for a job?" Forge asks dubiously.

"More like we rescued you from boredom. And now we are hiring you for a job," Quicksilver replies.

"I'm flattered," Forge replies sarcastically. He tries to shift but mentally kicks himself for his moment in the rain. Now he was soaked and trapped in a chair where the water puddled where he sat.

"You should be. Listen, you do this little project for us and we will take you back to your comfortable mansion. With all your limbs of course. Even the mechanical ones. So how about it?" Quicksilver asks.

"Uh, let me think about it. No," Forge states firmly, his anger sharpening his words.

"I thought you would say that. But no worries. You just need to think about it. And for once, we have time," Quicksilver replies with a shake of his head before vanishing.

Forge flinches when he hears the door slam. Finally alone, he ponders his situation. His thoughts go to his teammates.

"Please, hurry back guys," Forge mutters.

"Who you talking to?" A high pitch voice asks.

Forge blinks. First he looks up the stairs, thinking someone was coming down. Then he realizes the voice came from behind him, towards his left. He tries to turn his head in that direction. He just see's some movement, someone trying to move out of his line of sight.

"Whose there?" Forge asks nervously, wondering why the person is trying to keep out of his sight.

"No one you need to know. So who were you talking to?" The voice replies, asking his question again.

"It was just a prayer. To my team mates," Forge answers after debating whether to answer or not.

"The other X-men? What you worship them or something?" The voice questions with a laugh.

Forge doesn't say a word. OHe wasn't going to dignify that question with an answer. Instead he tries to think of a possible way out of this mess. He thinks about the hidden tools in his mechanical arm or the blaster cannon it can shift into. If his guest would just join the others, he could at least get out of these chains. That still leaves him with how to get up those stairs and past the Brotherhood. And not only that but then somehow get back to the mansion, possibly on one leg.

He closes his eyes and let's out a defeated sigh. Yes, he could get out of the chains. But that was far as he was going to get on his own. He is going to need help to escape. Or be rescued like some damsel in distress. He really hates how weak he is feeling at this moment.

"You okay man?" The voice asks, this time noticeably closer.

Forge opens his eyes and takes in a sharp breath. He finds himself looking into a pair of large amber colored eyes. The owner of those eyes seems to become aware of how uncomfortable Forge is from having his space suddenly invaded. The man steps back slowly, allowing Forge to get a better view of him.

He knew exactly who he was looking at. The same way he knew the other Brotherhood members even though he never met them. He remembers the information Logan gave when he went into the specifics of each of the Brotherhood members and their abilities. He knew Logan did this to avoid answering any questions that came up. Questions from Forge. Because lately Forge has been pushing himself to ask questions, to take an interest in what is going on with the team and who they face. It was in hopes that by showing an interest, maybe the others would finally see him as a fellow member, not just a...well, whatever they see him as now.

"Hellos?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looks down at the green skin mutant. Toad. That's what Logan called him. Said he was hard to miss due to his physical aspect of his mutation. Forge remembers the projected image of Toad that was up for only a few seconds before moving on to Blob. He also remembers that he disagreed mentally with Wolverine's comment about him being a victim of his mutant gene, that he had the possibly worse mutant abilities a mutant could posse. Looking at the mutant known as Toad, he realizes that he had disagreed out of his own self loathing.

"Hey," Forge mutters, feeling that this is what the other mutant was waiting for.

"Hey. You hit your head or something? You are acting funny," Toad comments, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I was having a bad day. Then I get kidnapped and now I'm chained to a chair. Oh and I'm completely soaked. Which means I'll end up catching a cold," Forge replies bitterly.

"I saw you standing in the rain," Toad shares.

"Yeah, well..." Forge trails off, unable to think of an explanation that makes sense. The rain depresses me so I went and stood in it? Even he didn't buy that.

"Do you like the rain?" Toad asks.

"No," Forge answers.

"So why were you standing in it?" Toad asks.

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" Forge asks, this time it's him filled with suspicion.

"Just talking man. Maybe if you think we aren't so bad, you will...you know," Toad answers with a shrug.

"Well you're wrong. I'm not going to do whatever little project your leader wants me to do," Forge states stubbornly.

"Alright, alright. It's nothing big anyway. Well, I don't think it is," Toad mutters.

Before Forge can respond, the door opens and he can make out the slim figure of the female member of the team.

"Toad! Get your rear up here now!" Domino orders.

Forge watches as Toad makes a single hop to the stairs then two hops up to the door. He grabs the handle but glances down one last time before closing the door. Forge begins to shiver as the dampness seems to finally soak through his adrenaline. He focuses on his mechanical arm, feeling the chains grow tighter as his arm shifts into the blaster cannon, the yellow material of his glove tearing to shreds and dropping to the floor behind him. With a quick pop, the chains shatter.

As expected, the door opens.

"You just couldn't behave, could you?" Quicksilver asks from the top of the stairs.

Quicksilver is standing in front of him within seconds as Avalanche also makes his way down the stairs.

"Should have knocked him out like I suggested," Avalanche comments.

"Hey now, can't blame me for giving the X-man the benefit of a doubt. Oh well, live and learn," Pietro replies.

Forge see's the opportunity and raises his cannon shaped arm at Pietro.

"Give me back my leg then get out of my way," Forge tells them, hoping that they will just make things easy and do as he says.

"Or what?" Avalanche challenges.

The cannon begins to light up and Forge smiles when the brotherhood member takes a step back. Maybe things are starting to look up. But as soon as he finished this thought, he felt a moment of pain to the left side of his face and everything goes black.

"I hate having to do that," Quicksilver remarks with a look of disappointment.

"Bull. You were hoping he would cause some trouble. You are only disappointed that he is such a weakling," Avalanche points out.

"Since when have you known me so well? Anyway for a mechanical genius, he doesn't really live up to the whole X-men image. He's kinda like our Toad," Quicksilver comments thoughtfully.

"Why did we kidnap him? It doesn't look like he will cooperate with us," Avalanche questions, looking closely at the unconscious X-man.

"Oh he will, sooner or later. Preferably sooner of course," Quicksilver responds. "For now, let's add his arm to the collection of spare parts. Then make use of what's left of the chains."

Avalanche sighs. He rips the sleeve of the blue uniform until it exposes the point where machine meets flesh. He steps back and allows Quicksilver to figure out how to remove the artificial limb. Within a blink of an eye, Quicksilver has it disconnected and holds it out to him. Avalanche also notices that now the X-man is laying on the floor, a bit of chain wrapped around his remaining leg and looped through an exposed cement brick. Seeing what remains of the X-man almost makes Avalanche feel sorry for the pathetic fool.

"Should I keep watch?" Avalanche asks.

"Seriously Dominic? What could he possibly do now? Crawl around like a worm? Yell and get on our nerves? He's fine. Nothing to worry about. So how about we go upstairs and focus on more pressing matters. Like getting us something to eat," Quicksilver replies with complete annoyance.

Before Avalanche could even think to argue, Quicksilver was back at the top of the stairs.

"You going to hang around down there all day?" Quicksilver asks.

With some unintelligible muttering, Avalanche climbs the stairs. He doesn't pay any mind when he passes Toad who was crouching next to the basement door, pretending to be stretching his legs. Nor does he notice the amber eyes watching him carry the artificial limb away.

It only takes Forge a few minutes to come to from the powerful punch. It takes him a bit longer to realize his change in circumstance. He let's out a quiet moan, not from pain but from his embarrassment. He was right earlier. Breaking the chains was his limit of being able to free himself. And what was the outcome? Taking his arm. The most useful part of him. It certainly wasn't his mutant power.

He really should be focusing on thinking of a way out of this mess rather than feeling bad for himself. But then he would only be kidding himself. He wasn't like the others. If he was Bobby, he'd just freeze the chain, then shatter it. After that he would freeze those Brotherhood goons before they could so much as sneeze then do that cool ice slide thing and head back to the institute before dinner. If he was Storm, well she would rain down God's fury on the whole block. Kitty would just phase her way out of here without them even noticing she's gone. Same with Kurt. All that would be left would be that nasty rotten egg smell. And Logan...if he was Logan there would be no Brotherhood. But he wasn't any of them. He was just Forge.

A loud explosion of thunder is heard and again Forge sighs. When it rains, it pours, he thinks to himself. He lays there, listening to the rain hit against the house the Brotherhood had chosen to reside in. More booms of thunder to off, each one sounding closer, signaling that the storm is building up. He doesn't notice the door at the top of the stairs opening and closing.

What he does notice is the smell of warm food. His stomach growls and Forge feels his face burn red.

"Hey, um, brought ya some food. It's just box Mac n cheese with hot dogs," Toad informs him.

Forge rolls on to his self, facing Toad.

"Thanks," Forge replies when he notices that the green mutant seems to be waiting for a response.

Toad nods and sets down the bowl of food by Forge. He starts to turn away before seeming to have thought of something.

"Uh, do you need...help?" Toad asks.

Forge looks away, knowing what the fellow mutant was referring to. After a few minutes of silence, Forge hears the upstairs door open and close again. He doesn't need to look around to know he's alone again.

With a groan, he pushes himself up using his remaining arm. Once he accomplishes this he uses his leg to bring the bowl of steaming food closer. 'At least I can still do this.' he thinks to himself before taking the first forkful.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 3
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Forge isn't too surprised to find that what remains of his body is sore from falling asleep on the cement floor. Nor that he still feels tired because he only managed to sleep for a few hours. Not only was he stuck with a cement floor as a bed but it was cold and he discovered that it is leaking. And did he mentioned that his uniform is still wet? Any chances of it drying faded as a puddle started to form along the same wall that he is connected to. He has positioned himself as far from it as he can but waking up has revealed that it had been a lost cause. The water has begun to stretch out towards the center of the basement.

Forge groans as he also detects the sound of tiny taps against the house. It's still raining. Perfect. If this keeps going, the basement is sure to flood. Hoping against hope, he carefully sits himself up and scans the cement floor. No drain hole. Sighing, he uses his one remaining arm and crawls a bit to a drier location. He tries not to think about how long this new spot will stay dry.

He hears the basement door open and spots the blur of silver come down the steps. Can't he do anything at normal speed? It's not that many stairs! And there is that condescending smile, Forge thinks bitterly as Quicksilver looks him over.

"You look well rested. Bet you want out of this basement now, huh?" Quicksilver asks.

"Wouldn't you?" Forge mutters.

"I can arrange that. Move you to one of the extra bedrooms we happen to have here. I'll even find you a clean towel. All you have to do is agree to make one small little device," Quicksilver offers.

"You kidnap me, take my limbs, and leave me down here in this flooding basement, which is freezing by the way, and you expect me to build some device for you? Seriously?" Forge asks, not caring that his annoyance is showing in his tone or that he is speaking to the leader of the Brotherhood and Magneto's son of all people.

"Oh come on, it isn't so bad," Quicksilver replies before feeling something by his foot and looks down to see water gathering by it. "Besides, when we picked you up, you were practically dancing in the rain."

"I was not!" Forge shouts.

"Okay, okay. You weren't dancing. And this basement sucks. Happy?" Quicksilver asks, already guessing the X-man's response.

"Ecstatic," Forge mutters.

"So about the device?"

"Find someone else to do it," Forge replies coolly. A part of him wishes someone else was here to see him standing up against this flashy guy. Then again, they most likely would smack him and tell him to be quiet.

"Ah, but there lies the problem. There is no one else. But maybe you're afraid that you can't build it," Quicksilver taunts.

"I don't even know what it is that you want me to build!" Forge shouts in irritation. He is really starting to hate this guy.

'Got him.' Pietro thinks, smiling for a second. "It's nothing much. It's just security jammer for motion detectors. The kind that could possibly overload such a form of security that it would be out of commission, permanently,"Quicksilver reveals.

"And why do you want me to build such a devise?" Forge asks, trying to ignore his thoughts that are already blue printing the darn contraption.

"Oh that's not important. Need it to run an errand is all. So, how about it?" Quicksilver asks.

"I think I'll pass," Forge replies. He smiles when he see's the frown on Quicksilver's face for a few staggering seconds before he regains his composure.

"Whatever, your loss. Oh and if you think you can just stall for time till the other X-losers show up, forget it. I have eyes watching the place and I can tell you that they are still out doing whatever mission they are doing. They don't even know you're gone," Quicksilver informs him. He smirks at his own bluff, knowing that the X-man before him can't help but believe him. "Why'd they leave you behind anyway? Afraid you would rust or something?"

Forge glares at the Brotherhood leader. Normally, Forge believes himself to be a very laid back easy going guy. But this guy here was somehow pushing his buttons and seriously ticking him off. So this is what it feels like to be Wolverine on a bad day.

"Too personal? Or too close to the truth? Whatever. I'll give you some time to think it over and then I'll stop by again later and see if you've reconsidered," Quicksilver tells him before vanishing again.

Forge waits a few minutes before he gets out a frustrated moan and throws his head back. Too late he realizes this was a very bad idea as the back of his head becomes bruised upon impact with the cement wall.

"Ouch!" He cries out and uses his remaining arm to rub at the sore spot.

Meanwhile, hidden behind some plastic totes in the same basement is a certain green member of the Brotherhood. He had listened to the little conversation between the X-man and Pietro. He could tell that this X-man was throwing Pietro off his game. It was actually pretty funny to see. Clearly Pietro had underestimated this particular X-man.

But even that doesn't explain why he's been so...drawn to the guy. Since seeing the guy crouching down in the rain, that image has been stuck in his head. It was driving Mortimer crazy. Besides irritating Pietro, he couldn't see what was so special about the guy. Yeah he had mechanical parts but as Pietro proved, once they were taken away, the guy wasn't all that much.

That's something else that confuses the younger mutant. Why did he feel both anger at his own team mates when they took those limbs and pity for the X-man? That made no sense. They needed him to make whatever that thing was so they could hack into the MRD data base and wipe it clean, making them have to start all over. So taking his leg made sense. He can't get too far without it. It would really put everyone in a bad mood if they have to go and kidnap him again. And the arm...well that was his own fault. Had he just sat in that chair like a good captive, he would still have that at least. But for some reason, even though Mortimer understood the reasons behind his teammates actions, it all seemed...cruel.

Maybe because now the X-man is left in a very sorry state. He has to struggle just to sit up. Mortimer watches him slam the back of his head into the wall and he even flinched from the pain that must have caused. The guy was really sad. And Mortimer understood all too well what that was like. That could easily sum up his life. Was that why he is drawn to the X-man?

Mortimer listens to the movement going on above them. The squeaks of the floor boards must mean that Fred is up and moving around. Heading to the kitchen for a snack most likely. He could only guess what the others were doing. Neena and Pietro are probably watching the news. Dominic out working on their current mode of transportation. None of them giving a thought as to where Toad is. And Mortimer knows it. It's why he knew no one would think it was odd that he didn't come down this morning. They simply didn't care.

He wonders though how they would take it if they knew he had sneaked down here late last night and had actually spent the night down here. Not much but it would hurt, he decides. And not physically either. And they wouldn't like it when he can't give them a grade A excuse for why he spent the night down here. He doubted very much they would buy the whole 'keeping watch' excuse. He only has one leg.

There was one thing he hadn't thought of. And that was to come out of hiding without the X-man knowing he spent the night down here. His own clothes were too wet to play the whole 'I hopped down while Quicksilver was talking with ya' story. He didn't mind the wet clothes or the water forming under him, but they were a dead give away. That and the fact he was hiding behind some plastic totes. That wouldn't come out to be a bit creepy. Not at all.

Mortimer starts to mentally kick himself when he hears an odd sort of sound coming from the X-man. Peeking over the totes, he see's the X-man looking at the wall. Mortimer realizes that the man is watching a trickle of rain water flow down the wall. The expression on the dark haired man is one of defeat. Like a dog that has been kicked kinda.

"Why won't it just stop raining already?" Forge asks.

Mortimer's eyes widen at the question. It wasn't just the question, strange as that was, but something about the X-man's voice. It sounded...almost painful. Not paying attention, Mortimer places his hand on one of the totes to try to lean out more for a better look. But his hand ends up pushing the tote, making a scraping noise. Quickly filling with panic, Mortimer up at the X-man, hoping he hadn't heard the noise. When his amber eyes meet a set of deep brown eyes, he realizes he is busted.

"You again," Forge comments.

Forge looks at the green intruder, first with annoyance. But as the Brotherhood mutant steps out from behind the plastic totes that he had paid no attention to earlier, his expression softens to that of curiosity. Why was he hiding behind those totes? How long? Do his clothes look...wet?

"Uh...hey," Mortimer offers weakly, clearly embarrassed from being found out.

"Hey," Forge returns the greeting, unsure of what to say next.

The two simply watch each other in silence for a few minutes. Finally Forge's thoughts catch up to him.

"How long have you been down here?" Forge asks.

"Since last night," Mortimer answers, smacking himself in the face for answering truthfully instead of thinking of a lie.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Mortimer mutters.

Again a few minutes of silence passes until this time Mortimer breaks it.

"You hate the rain or something?" Mortimer asks.

"Why you ask?" Forge questions back.

"Because earlier you said you don't like it. You argued with Pi...with Quicksilver over whether you were dancing in it or not and just now you asked why it won't just stop," Mortimer answers.

Forge looks away, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, I hate the rain," Forge answers.

"Why?" Mortimer asks when he moves a bit closer to the X-man.

"Is this your way to collect intel or something?" Forge asks with suspicion.

Mortimer simply shakes his head. Forge remains quiet for a few minutes, debating whether he should admit the truth or not. The green kid is an enemy. But what harm could possibly come from answering the question. The only weather controlling mutant is on his team, not Toad's.

"Rainy weather like this, it always makes me think about things. Things that I'd rather not think about," Forge answers.

"Things that bother you?" Mortimer ventures.

"Yeah," Forge replies.

"Me too," Mortimer shares, causing Forge to look at him. "Not the rain so much but the grey skies. That's what I don't like."

"What's your name?" Forge finds himself asking without realizing he had been thinking asking that question.

"Toad. Or Mortimer Toynbee. Which ever," Mortimer answers with a shrug. "Yours?"

"Forge. Or Jonathan Silvercloud," Forge answers, figuring he should return the same bit of trust the other mutant had shared by revealing his real name.

"Silver...cloud? Really?" Mortimer asks.

"Really. Why?" Forge asks, waiting for the heckling to start. Seriously, it's not like he chose his last name or anything.

"That's kinda cool," Mortimer answers without hesitation.

"Oh. Um, thanks," Forge replies. He certainly didn't expect a comment like that. Not from a Brotherhood member.

"I better go," Mortimer tells him and hops over to the stairs.

"Hey!" Forge calls out, suddenly not wanting to be left alone.

Mortimer stops but doesn't look back at the X-man.

"If I was in your shoes, I'd just build something for Quicksilver and get out of here. I bet that cozy mansion you live in is dryer than this basement. And that there is somewhere you can hide from the rain," Mortimer tells him before glancing over his shoulder quickly before hopping up the stairs.

Forge watches him disappear behind the close door. He sighs. That guy isn't too bad really. Sadly, there was no way he could just agree to help the Brotherhood. He won't even allow himself to consider it. He suddenly sneezes. Getting pneumonia will suck. But that was better than helping the bad guys.

Suddenly he stiffens. Mortimer said to build something. Didn't say build the device. Could he have meant? No. But that was a good idea. Quicksilver doesn't look like the type to know about mechanics and certainly not the type to wait and test the product out. He would want instant results. So if Forge built him something that would do what he wanted, Quicksilver would just take it. He wouldn't think that the X-man would add some features to it. Maybe something electrifying. For the first time since ending up in the basement, Forge allows his mind to figure out the details of Quicksilver's device. He even does so with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 4
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile Mortimer is just about to enter his 'room' when his lead suddenly blocks the way by leaving against the doorway.

"Toad, did I just see you come up from the basement?" Pietro asks with an expression that tells Mortimer that he is expecting one heck of a good excuse.

"Uh, maybe?" Mortimer replies weakly. If he doesn't get smacked for that response, he will be surprised.

"Try again," Pietro orders in an icy tone.

"Yeah, I was down there," Mortimer admits with a sigh as he crouches down.

"And why were you down there?"

Mortimer doesn't answer, instead he takes a suddenly interest in the carpet. Neat shade of blue. Bet ya can't see the stains as easily when the little rug rats spill their juice.

"Toad, I'm not liking you trying to be so defiant. So give it up already. This is your last chance. Why were you down there?" Pietro repeats, his fingers tapping against his elbow as he waits for a reply. At the speed he was doing this, to Mortimer it sounded strangely like humming.

"I...I was curious alright? Trying to see what was so special about him," Mortimer replies.

"And what did you see?" Pietro prods.

"Nothing," Mortimer answers.

Pietro moves out of the doorway in the blink of an eye. Mortimer is about to hop inside when he is pushed roughly into the wall besides it. Gulping, he looks up to meet his leader's icy gaze.

"I swear Toad, if you somehow screw this mission up for us, you won't have to worry about the MRD or Colonial Moss ever again. Am I clear?" Pietro asks.

"Y-yes," Toad stammers out.

Just as suddenly as he had been pressed against the wall, he is released.

"Leave the X-man alone Toad. Stay away from him," Pietro orders before going into another room.

"Who peed in your lucky charms?" Mortimer asks when he believes he's safely out of earshot of the speedy mutant.

Mortimer enters his room and slams the door for good measure. Then he sighs and hops over to the corner. From there, he looks over the room. It used to belong to a teenage boy, guessing from the rock posters of Korn and Marlin Manson. Mortimer only knows the names. He's never really heard their music or not enough to know it's their music. He looks at the dresser that has square shapes in the dust. Trophies Mort guesses. He reaches under the pillow and pulls out a baseball he had found earlier. He wonders if the missing trophies were for baseball.

He looks out the window, watching the rainy scenery. He knows he shouldn't let his mind wander. It always ends up being painful. But he really doesn't feel like hanging around the others and listen to their degrading comments or insults. More than likely they will just rub salt in old wounds. He doesn't need their help for that.

He hadn't lied when he told the X-man that he doesn't like grey sky's. Seeing them now is reminding him of some of the worse moments in his life. Moments like the first morning he woke up on the streets. Or the time he came to in an alley after some local boys decided to teach the freak a lesson.

The first time he ended up in an MRD cell. He would never tell his team mates how afraid he was that first night. It was raining then too. But what he remembers most is the grey skies. He looked up at them when they led him into the detainment camp. That night he didn't sleep. He was too afraid that was going to be the last he saw of the sky. Those grey clouds. He was so glad to see Pietro the next morning. But after that, he will never look at the skies as they take him in. Instead he keeps his eyes focused on the ground.

But he isn't looking at the ground tonight. He isn't being dragged into a mutant detainment camp either. But he still feels trapped regardless. He's noticed the changes in his team mates. No, it isn't his team mates that has changed. He is just coming to terms with the truth of his fragile situation. Petrakis never liked him. Domino has lost all faith in him, specially when he refused to get involved with their skirmish with the X-men over the Nitro incident. Speaking of that, he learned later that it was Fred who wanted the snap shot of him when he was told he was out of the Brotherhood. And Pietro was obviously getting sick of him not meeting the expectations that he had for the green mutant. Heck, even Rogue who was with them for only a short while had been all aboard with leaving him in a MRD detainment cell.

He was part of a team that no longer wanted him. But without a good excuse, they weren't going to just ditch him. So Mortimer had to do his best not to give them a good excuse. Like not getting caught by the MRD. In fact, it has been weeks since they had to bail him out again. The only way he could think of to not be caught was by staying at the hideout. Of course this did not sit well with the rest of the team. Specially on food runs. Pietro made sure he had something to eat but it wasn't much.

The box of Mac n cheese was suppose to last him a few days and the hot dogs he borrowed from Fred's stash. When Pietro noticed that there were no leftovers from that box, comments were made about him being a glutton. He was informed that there wasn't going to be another food run until sometime late tomorrow. That left Toad with only a package of graham crackers until then. So far, he hasn't heard anything from Fred about the missing hot dogs.

Mortimer still doesn't understand his own actions. Why was he spending so much time focusing on the the X-man? Why did he share his food with the guy? Why can't he get the image of him in the rain out of his head? Maybe it's a good thing Pietro ordered him to stay away from the X-man.

But that was something else. Why did that particular order bother him? Maybe it was just the part about screwing up the mission. The mission in which he has no information what so ever about. Not that that was anything new. If he needed to know anything about their missions, it was at the last possible moment. The only thing he knew was that they needed the X-man in the basement to build something. He doesn't even know what part he has in the mission. Most likely stay out of the way and follow. Those were the exact orders from the last mission.

"Toad!"

Mortimer tenses at hearing his code name. So much for not hearing anything from Fred about those hot dogs. Time to face the music.

As Mortimer heads to the kitchen to receive his punishment about the stolen hot dogs, Pietro shakes his head and goes into the basement just before Fred starts going off. He smiles, wondering if the X-man is willing to play along yet. The smile falters when he notices the X-man is also smiling.

"Hey. About time," Forge comments.

"Sounds like you were waiting for me. That's new," Quicksilver replies, being further caught off guard by this change of conversation. Shouldn't he have started it?

"Let me guess, you usually have to do the waiting?" Forge asks.

"Specially for people like you, yes. And I hate waiting. So let's get to it. Have you decided to help with our little project or do you need to let it soak In some more?" Quicksilver asks.

"Do I get my parts back? They have the tools I'll need," Forge asks.

"Hmm. Sure, why not. But if you try blasting any of us, I'll not only take them away again but I'll let Domino use you as a practice dummy. She rarely misses," Quicksilver threatens.

"Then sure. I'll build your little device. Then I go back to the X-men," Forge states firmly.

"Sure. As long as the device works. And no little X-man tricks either. It works, you go back home," Quicksilver agrees.

"Deal," Forge replies, still smiling.

"Why are you agreeing to this all of a sudden? A few minutes ago you weren't so cooperative," Quicksilver comments, looking at the X-man with suspicion.

"Maybe because they haven't come yet and I'm tired of sitting in freezing cold water," Forge replies bitterly.

"I see. Well hope you don't mind having company when you work," Quicksilver comments as he moves to undo the chain.

All Forge see's is a silver blur then feels himself being lifted one second then dropped down on the wooden steps. He has to take a deep breath to calm his stomach from the rush. He hears the heavy thuds next to him and he knows his artificial limbs have been returned. He looks up to see Quicksilver looking at him, the impatience in his face evident. Smiling again, Forge reconnects his arm then his leg, deliberately taking more time than needed for the procedure. He has to struggle to keep from laughing when he stands up and Quicksilver let's out an irritated sigh. 

"Took you long enough. Let me show you to your new work room," Quicksilver tells him before racing past him to the top of the stairs.

Forge fights the temptation to climb the steps slowly, deciding not to push his luck. He's going to need it if he's going to get out of this situation. Forge is lead to a back room that looks to have been added to the house at one point. It is filled with stolen tv, microwaves, tools and other appliances.

"Going to need anything specific?" Quicksilver asks, smirking at the X-man's astonished expression.

"Won't know till I start tearing things apart. I'll create a list if I do," Forge replies as he picks up a box that contains a DVD player and starts pulling it out. Quicksilver watches him toss the box and Styrofoam aside without care. It is quickly obvious that the engineer is deeply concentrated at the task at hand. He never notices Quicksilver leaving and Domino taking his place.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 5
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

A few nights later, Forge is working late into the night, his company already changed from Domino to Blob to Avalanche who is sitting outside the room and snoring lightly. When he finally stops to stretch, he has parts everywhere and some contraption on his lap. He gently moves it aside and turns around only to find himself suddenly looking into a pair of amber colored eyes. His mouth opens to cry out in surprise but a green clawed hand covers his mouth.

"Shh! Unless ya want both of us to get into trouble! Pietro hates being woken up man," Mortimer tells him as he looks to the door nervously.

Mortimer pulls away his hand and Forge looks at him with a curious expression.

"What are you doing here? You're turn to watch me?" Forge whispers, unsure of why he's doing so.

"Nah. Just...umm...checking on you. Nearly done with it?" Mortimer asks.

"Huh? Oh uh yeah. Should have it done by tomorrow. Can't wait to get out of here," Forge replies, glancing out the window.

The storm had came and went and the last two days were sunny but he heard from the recent weather report that another thunderstorm may develop tomorrow afternoon. Forge hopes he will be back at the mansion by then. Maybe then he could ask why no one has found him yet. By now the team should be back. Jean could use Cerebro. So why haven't they come for him?

"Missing your team mates?" Mortimer asks.

"Huh? Funny, I was just thinking of them. Wondering why they haven't come looking for me," Forge admits.

"Oh, that's because this place is scan proof. Nothing can detect that there are mutants here. And it cancels out other mutants powers like telepaths so they can't find us," Mortimer explains before suddenly looking afraid. "Oh man! I-I shouldn't have told y-you that!"

"Makes sense. Emma could never find you guys. Umm, you okay?" Forge asks when he notices the fearful expression and the way Mortimer is tugging his dreadlocks.

"No I'm not okay! If Pietro finds out that I just told you how no one can find us, I'll be kicked out for sure! Maybe even dropped off at the MRD! Oh man!" He moans.

"Hey, hey calm down. I won't tell him or anyone else. They wouldn't really drop you off at the MRD would they? Their your team mates right?" Forge asks, hoping that by pointing these facts out will calm the green mutant down.

"You don't know them. They ain't like you guys. They were going to leave me there once before. They want me gone," Mortimer reveals sadly.

"Some team," Forge mutters.

"Hey, what do you know?! At least, at least they don't leave me behind!" Mortimer cries out.

"I think I'd rather be left behind then become a nervous wreck like you," Forge replies.

"Yeah, well you could live on the streets without anyone screaming at you. After all, it isn't obvious that your a mutant," Mortimer comments bitterly. "I'm on the streets five minutes and I am running from the MRD."

Forge opens his mouth to say something but closes it instead, choosing to remain silent for a few minutes. He watches the green mutant look around nervously. Why is he really here, Forge wonders.

"I won't tell anyone about how you guys avoid detection. Not even to the rest of the X-men," Forge promises.

"Yeah, well, how am I suppose to believe you? Y-you could tell them as soon as you get back to that fancy mansion you live in," Mortimer replies.

"But I won't. I gave you my word. Besides, I owe you for the Mac n cheese and hot dogs when I first came here," Forge replies with a smile.

"Whatever. If you do tell, I'll...I'll think of something to do to you," Mortimer finishes, looking away due to embarrassment.

Forge nods. He watches Mortimer hop over towards the door and peers out but Forge can still hear the snores from the other Brotherhood member.

"You were left behind when we grabbed you, right?" Mortimer asks, slowly turning towards the engineer.

"Yeah, why?"

"Does your team want to get rid of you too?" Mortimer asks.

"What? No, no. It's nothing like that. It's just, my mutant ability isn't all that useful on the field," Forge admits.

"Oh. You're lucky then. What's it like?"

"What is what like?" Forge asks, cocking his head in confusion.

"Never mind," Mortimer replies before slipping out the door. 

Forge stares at the door for a moment. Toad is certainly a strange one. But so far he doesn't seem like that bad of a guy, Forge muses. He remembers what Rogue shared about him once. That he was more annoying than anything, almost like a bratty teenager. She also mentioned that he seems to feel like he had to be this way. He still doesn't understand that last part. And so far he hasn't found the fellow mutant annoying in the slightest.

No, his observations were quite different from what his fellow team mates were. So far the guy has been friendly and generous even though it costed him. He's very loyal to his team despite how they see and treat him. Forge wonders is that is most of the guy's problem, his team mates. What would he be like if he was with the X-men?

Then another thought comes to mind. If Forge hadn't been recruited by Hank, would he have been in Toad's...in Mortimer's shoes? He remembers how lost he had felt before Hank and Xavier came to him. Does Mortimer possibly feel this way? Forge can't possibly imagine what it's like to always be afraid that your own team will not only dump you, but dump you off to the MRD. He's surprised the guy isn't having a complete breakdown on a daily basis.

Forge sighs as he lays down in the corner where a cot was set up for him. Slowly he works to slow his racing thoughts and fall to sleep. His last though is that by this time tomorrow, with any luck he will be back in his own bed.

The following morning, Mortimer creeps downstairs. He muffles a yawn. He couldn't fall asleep after the little chat he had with the X-man. Instead he spent the night watching the world outside. The X-man will be gone after today. Back where he belongs. Back out there where even though the world hates their kind, he can live amongst them without them realizing he's a mutant. Not to mention that he has team mates that would protect him rather than abandon him. The very thing he once believed about his own team.

"So you really going to go through it Pietro?" Mortimer hears Petrekis asks.

"I'm hurt that you don't trust me," Pietro replies.

Mortimer inches closer towards the kitchen before crouching down.

"Come on Pietro, we all know that you are the one who always insist on bailing Toad out of the MRD. Who went to take a snap shot and ended up having us break him out?" Domino points.

"He served a use," Pietro replies.

"Some use. He nearly got us all killed. And he hid like some coward instead of helping us fight the X-men," Petrekis complains.

"You don't think I remember that? Or that he's no longer carrying his weight? As I said before, I'm through with him. This mission I will personally take him with me to the center of the MRD headquarters and that's where I'll leave him. Him and the X-men. Maybe they could keep each other company," Pietro tells the other two members.

Mortimer lowers his head and bites his knuckle to keep from tearing up. It's finally going to happen. He's getting kicked out. He hops across the living room, thinking of going back to his room and packing. But he stops on the stairs. Everything he owns is already packed in an old backpack. All he would have to do is grab it, hop out the window and disappear. He reaches his room and is about to do just that when the image of the X-man pops in his head.

He is a member of the enemy of the Brotherhood. One of the good guys whose morals won't them do what needs to be done. Too blind by their dream of world peace to see how the world hates them. But is their dream really that bad? Maybe it is only bad because it tended to get in the way of Pietro's plans. Plans that Mortimer shouldn't care about anymore. As for the X-man, well, why should he be lumped in with Toad's situation? He has a home. And a team that won't dump him at the MRD.

Nodding to himself, he enters his room and opens the window. With three well placed hops, he is peeking into the window of the room where the X-man is. He see's Blob saying something before closing the door, leaving the engineer alone. Mortimer laughs at his luck as he taps on the window, catching the X-man's attention.

Forge looks over at the window with confusion. Blob just left to join Domino for breakfast. They had just agreed he was not likely to try escaping since he was so close to going home. So why is Mortimer knocking on the window? Why doesn't he come through the bedroom door? Forge pops the window open anyway.

"Hey," Forge greets.

"You need to break your device," Mortimer tells him.

"Wait, what? Break it? I just finished though!" Forge cries out.

"You need to break it. They ain't going to take you home. They are going to drop you off at the MRD headquarters," Mortimer explains.

"Really?" Forge asks, a strange look clouding his features.

"You had to know they weren't going to keep their word. Even I know that," Mortimer replies.

"Guess I did. Alright I'll slow it down but what good will that do?" Forge asks with a wary sigh.

"It'll buy you some time. I also need you to give me the number to contact your team. Don't ask me why. Just give me the number, okay?" Mortimer asks.

Forge looks surprisingly at Mortimer. Is he going to do what Forge thinks he's going to do? Why? But he doesn't voice these questions. Instead he grabs a scrap piece of paper and scribbles down the number. He passes it to Mortimer.

"Um...thanks," Forge mutters.

"Don't thank me. Only one of us needs to be stuck with the MRD," Mortimer mutters, hopping away before Forge could say another word.

Forge watches him hop out of sight before the words hit him.

"Oh, no," Forge mutters.

He looks over at the finished device on the floor. He closes the window and walks over to it. With a frustrated shout, he kicks it with his mechanical leg.

"Something wrong?" Quicksilver asks, surprising Forge.

Forge looks over at the egotistic white haired mutant.

"Yeah, actually. One of the heating coils fried so if that isn't replaced, it most likely will explode as soon as you try to use it. Maybe that's not a bad thing," Forge replies with a smile.

"Ha-ha. If it explodes, you don't go home. I suggest you get to fixing it before I decide to room you with Blob," Quicksilver warns before leaving the room.

Forge picks up the device, noticing only the slight dent from kicking it. He looks back at the window. Hopefully what Mortimer is planning works. He plops down on the ground and begins to dismantle the device to pretend to be repairing it.

Meanwhile, Mortimer slips himself through a window of another home a few blocks down. Thankfully the owners were away and their were no dogs on the block. Now he just needs to make this call before they return home. He finds the phone, and scowls at the spotted dog shape appliance. he shakes his head and picks up the receiver, balancing it on his shoulder so he can read the number and dial it in. He takes in a deep breath as he listens to it ring on the other end.

After two rings, a female voice answers.

"Hello, this is Xavier's institute for gifted children. How can I help you?"

"This is about your missing team mate. Forge. He's being held by the Brotherhood. Address is 1304 Elm's street. Two story brown house. Hurry or he will be handed to the MRD," Mortimer tells the other person as quickly as he can. His hands are sweating as he holds the phone.

"Toad? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"The joke will be on you if you don't get him right now!" He shouts before slamming down the receiver.

He takes a few breathes, trying to steady his shaking hands. If the other find out what he just did...then he shakes his head. It doesn't matter if they find out. Nothing will change. Except that he might get a few bruises before going to the MRD.

He hopes that his little phone call had been taken seriously. It sounded like that young girl on the X-men. Kitty? He prays she went straight to Wolverine and they were on their way. There's nothing more he can think of to do. He throws the number away and climbs back out the number just as the owners pull in the driveway. Later they will find the window open and wonder which of them left it open.

Meanwhile Kitty glares at the phone. She is sure that was Toad on the other end. How the heck did he get their number? Should they be expecting other Brotherhood members making prank calls? Then again he did mention Forge. Their missing team member. Since coming back and finding the busted wall, they have tried using Cerebro to find him. So far they have had no luck. Maybe the Brotherhood does have him.

With a sigh of defeat, she decides to drop in on their leader. She phases through the floor and the floor beneath that until she is in the observation deck on the Danger room. She hears a growl followed by an explosion and knows she is in the right place. She goes over to the console and enters the commands to end the training session.

Logan watches a laser Gatling gun disarm and glares at the observation deck, wondering who would dare interrupt his training session. He spots the brunette waving at him.

"Kitty, how many times do I have to tell you that unless there's an emergency, we do not interrupt my training sessions?" He shouts at her.

"Sorry Logan but I just received the strangest phone call," Kitty explains.

"Strange phone calls do not fall into the emergency category," he growls with annoyance.

"It was about Forge," She tells him.

"Tell me what was exactly said," Logan orders.

"That the Brotherhood has him and if we don't get him, he'll be handed off to the MRD. They gave me an address and description of the house he is being held at," Kitty informs him.

"Who was the caller?"

"That's the strange part. It was Toad," Kitty replies with a look of disgust.

"Toad..." Logan repeats the mutant's name, thinking over the issue.

"Should I gather the others?" Kitty asks.

"It could be a trap. But the damage we found does point to the Brotherhood. Yeah, tell the team to meet at the garage. We head out in five," Logan replies.

Meanwhile Forge is tinkering with the device. An idea came to him and he was finishing making the final adjustment. He smiles as he disconnects the wire attaching it to his arm. Quicksilver is going to be in for quite a surprise whenever he finds out that Forge added a voice file recorder that sends all recorded files to the data card within his mechanical arm. As long as Quicksilver has this close by, he will have a recording of possibly any future plans of the Brotherhood. Of course there is the chance it will be tossed once the mission of theirs is complete.

That was the other hidden feature. An advance computer program that will make a copy of every file on the MRD hard drive as soon as the device is within a few feet of a computer. Quicksilver could destroy those files but Forge will have a backup of them that he could later hack and replace them. After making a few edits of course. Sometimes he marvels at his own genius. All the leader of the Brotherhood believes it will do is jam motion detectors. Why does the fastest man on earth need something like that? Oh, right. The rest of his team doesn't have super speed.

Thinking of the rest of the team, he again finds himself thinking about Mortimer. The one member he never thought would help him out of this situation. Again he asks why. Again his mind fails to think up of an explanation. Wouldn't he be happy to see an X-man stuck in an MRD cell? It wouldn't be Forge's first time he ended up in one. He remembers Logan stating that Toad was well known with the authorities. And Mortimer did say that they were going to leave him there before. Leave him with the MRD. Mortimer was afraid of ending up there again. So why the risk?

Forge agains wonders if their roles were reversed, would he do the same? He'd like to think so. He hasn't really felt hatred for anyone, enough to not care if they ended up in an MRD detainment camp. He wouldn't wish that place on his worse enemy. And besides, there was something special about Mortimer.

He blushes at the thought. What does that even mean? And why is it that when ever he thinks of the mutant, he ends up asking more questions? And that wasn't the only thing he noticed. Usually, while he worked on an invention, that's the only thing that seems to fill his thoughts. Nothing else until it's completed. Or if he gets interrupted, like Logan often does to him. But as he built this, he was aware of his thoughts about the green mutant. It was like he was there is his head, watching him work. At first it was distracting but then it changed. It became comforting. Why though? Another question. That makes what, twenty questions in under five minutes?

Before he realizes it, the device is completed. And apparently in the nick of time for the bedroom door opens and their is the son of Magneto.

"Guess what? Your team is here for the rescue. Not sure how they found you but they did," Quicksilver announces, his face revealing his annoyance over the matter.

"Lucky me," Forge replies.

"Yeah, lucky you. Lucky me too by the looks of it. Hand me the device and we will just leave you here for them to pick you up," Quicksilver tells him, holding his hand out.

"Simple as that huh?" Forge asks, looking at the device.

"Of course. Listen, I really don't want to fight with Wolverine today. So just hand it here and we'll be out of your hair," Quicksilver replies.

They are interrupted by a loud crashing sound.

"Great!" Quicksilver mutters before suddenly feeling something being pressed against his chest. Surprised, he looks down at the device. He looks up at Forge who is smiling.

Forge nearly bursts out laughing as he watches the mutant dash out of the room. But it fades as he falls back due to the shaking ground. He shakes his head as he sits up then jumps when someone grabs his shoulder.

"What are you sitting around here for?!" Kitty asks. "Get up and let's get out of here already!"

He is yanked up onto his feet and pulled through the wall. He barely manages not to fall as Kitty, holding his wrist like a mother does a child, and leads him to the black van. He stops when he spots a green mutant hopping around the house, carrying a backpack. The two make eye contact. Mortimer waves with his hand. But instead of waving back, Forge stretches his hand out, making an unspoken offer. He see's the amber eyes widen in disbelief.

"Toad! Get over here now!" One of his team mates call.

Toad looks away from Forge and obediently hops towards the shout. Forge drops his arm as Kitty opens the van door and orders him to get inside and stay put. Like Toad, Forge follows the order.

Unknown to either of them, someone had seen Forge offer his hand, asking Toad to join him. Domino was completely surprised at what she witnessed. It made no sense. Then it dawns on her. Toad must have informed the X-men that they had their missing team mate. And he even gave them the location of their hideout. She looks back at Pietro and see's the furious expression. Their leader knows what Toad did. She glances next to her when the green mutant hops into the jeep. Did he understand what he just did? This is going to get ugly once they get away from here. She wonders how badly the kid is going to hurt after this.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 6
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later, the members of the Brotherhood are standing outside of a closed down gas station. The street in front of them hasn't been used once since they arrived. The trees left unkept provided them cover from seeing eyes if anyone happens to walk by. It was good for a quick stop.

Domino looks over to Blob as she cleans her gun. He is eating from a box of twinkles he found in the store section of the gas station. The sight turns her stomach because the only newspaper inside was dated four years ago. But what is really getting to her is the muffled thuds coming from inside the building.

As soon as the vehicle was stopped, Blob was order to break the chain lock and he and Toad vanished inside. That part wasn't so bad. There was some shouting but she didn't hear anything more. It was when he dragged Toad out and made him confess to the rest of the team that things started to get ugly. She was surprised that Pietro allowed Petrekis to punch the kid. He always intervened to stop such savage acts. But today he wasn't.

Right now Toad was back inside with Petrekis, receiving a lesson about being a traitor. Pietro had promised everyone will be getting a turn. This didn't sit right with her. Apparently it didn't sit well with Fred either. Petrekis has just walked out of the store, looking quite pleased with himself. He looked to Fred who shakes his head, tossing the empty box aside.

"What about you Domino? Ready for your turn?" Avalanche asks.

"Need to talk to Pietro first for a moment," she replies before getting up and walking over to their leader who was glaring down at a map.

"Pietro?" Domino calls out.

"What is it Neena? He pass out or something?" Pietro asks without looking away.

"Why are you doing this to him?" She asks directly.

"He betrayed us," he hisses out.

"Just like we were going to do to him. Or are you conveniently forgetting that part?" Domino asks.

"That doesn't matter," Pietro replies.

"Face it, the reason you're so mad isn't because he gave us away to the X-men. It's because you see his failure as yours," She replies knowingly.

"And how did you come up with that?"

"Why did you recruit him in the first place? To show your dear old dad that you can turn even the most sorry of mutants into a force to be reckon with. But you can't. Not with Toad. And that means you failed," She states firmly.

Pietro is silent for a few minutes. When he still this long, Domino knows he's lost to his thoughts. Finally he lowers his head with a sigh.

"You're right. You know, he still surprised me with having the nerve to contact them," Pietro comments.

"Who would have ever thought he had it in him. So, how are you going to handle him?" Domino asks.

"I'm thinking of keeping with the original plan. Drop him off at the MRD," Pietro replies.

It's only on his face for a second but she spots it. His disapproval of that idea.

"Don't you think you owe him a bit more than to do that to him?"

"What else is there? If we just leave him on he streets, he's going to end up at one of their detainment camps anyway. You know that as well I do," Pietro points out.

"There's always...the X-men," Domino replies, remembering seeing the X-man stretching his hand out to Toad. 

She isn't surprised to receive the dubious expression Pietro gives her for this suggestion.

"Did you really suggest the X-men just now?" Pietro asks, his eyes still wide.

"Think about it Pietro. Those goodie two shoes can't help but help those in need. And unlike us, they won't turn him hand him over to the MRD," she points out.

"Did you forget that we already had someone not only betray us but went to those guys?" Pietro asks.

"Rogue was always an X-man. You know that. You owe this to Toad. If it wasn't for you, he would most likely be in Genosha where he would be safe from the rest of the world. It's where he should be. But since we're banned from there, the next best place for him is with the X-men," Domino explains.

Again Pietro goes silent for a few minutes. Finally he sighs.

"Think they will treat him alright?" Pietro asks.

"They can't treat him any worse than we already have," Domino answers honestly.

Pietro nods.

"Get him ready and I'll drop him off," Pietro orders.

Domino nods and walks back to the station. She nods to Fred before going inside and making her way to the back room. There she finds Toad cowering in the corner. His left eye has swelled shut. His right eye looks up at her fearfully.

"Easy Toad. I'm not going to do what Avalanche just did," Domino tells him.

"Then what are you going to do to me?" Toad asks, his voice shaking along with the rest of him.

"I am going to knock you out. The Pietro is going to take you to your new home," she tells him calmly.

"You mean the MRD," Toad replies pitifully.

"No. You won't be taken there. I promise. I need you to stay still, okay?" She instructs him.

"Will it hurt?" Toad asks, looking hopeful.

"Only for a moment," she answers truthfully.

Toad nods and closes his eye. He doesn't see her unholster her side arm and with a sigh, she hits him hard on the side of his head with the butt of it. She watches sadly as he crumples to the ground. She looks on the shelves and finds a car tarp and rope. With care, she wraps him in the tarp and ties it around him. Hopefully he won't be in it longs, she thinks. When she's done, she gets up and examines her handy work.

"I never thought I'd say this but I'm going to miss you kid," she whispers before leaving the station.

She nods to Pietro and walks over to the jeep. In seconds, Pietro meets her with the wrapped Toad over his shoulder. She hands him Toad's backpack. With a slight breeze, her leader is gone.

"Finally free of that little twerp," Avalanche comments.

"Yeah. Pietro wants us ready to go when he gets back. Let's see if there is anything remotely useful here. And maybe see if we can turn the pumps on and get some discounted fuel," she replies. She turns around to join her remaining team mates but not before she wishes Toad the best.

Meanwhile Logan and Jean are in the security room, watching Forge work on adjustments to the security system. While Logan is impressed with Forge's focus, Jean is concern that he is pushing himself a bit too much.

"Really Forge, you could take a break. Give yourself the afternoon off. You just came back from being held captive by the Brotherhood," Jean comments.

"Huh? No, I'm fine, thanks though," Forge replies before they hear a zap and see his body stiffen.

"You alive Forge?" Logan asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. Missed a wire is all," Forge replies.

Jean looks over to Logan.

'He's worried about someone,' she mentally whispers to him.

'Jean, you know I hate communicating this way. Besides, you are invading the man's personal thoughts,' Logan replies.

"I'm just concern is all. I still don't understand why I couldn't find him using Cerebro," Jean says aloud.

"Hey Forge, any idea why that is?" Logan asks.

"You got me. I didn't even see much besides the basement and the workroom they kept me in," Forge answers.

"Explain to me what you built for them again," Logan requests.

They hear Forge sigh but before he can reply, a loud alarm starts going off, making all three cover their ears.

"Forge turn that darn thing off!" Logan hollers.

Forge comes out from under the console and hits a few keys. The alarm falls silent.

"Another loose wire?" Logan asks.

"No, someone was just here. Look," Jean points at one of the screens.

Logan and Jean both examine the image which shows their front door. Something wrapped in a tarp was laying in front of their door. Besides it is a backpack.

"Forge, can you..." Logan starts to order before Jean steps forward.

"Can you get the delivery that's waiting at the front door? Apparently it set off the security monitors," she interrupts.

"Um, sure, okay," Forge replies, looking at the red head as if she just spoke another language.

They watch him leave the security room before Logan turns towards Jean.

"Mind explaining what you just did Red?" Logan asks.

"I sent Forge to pick up what's the front door," she replies with a smile.

"I got that part. But why? We have no idea what that even is," Logan points out.

"It's not a what. It's a who. And it so happens to be the same person Forge is so concern about," Jean corrects.

"And that would be?"

"Toad," Jean answers.

Logan's eyes widen before both turn back to the monitor. They watch as their young engineer steps out the front door slowly, looking down at the rolled tarp. He kneels down and unties the ropes holding it together. As he peels back the tarp, they see his mouth fall open. Logan presses down a key on the console.

"Hank you there?"

"I'm here. What do you need?" Hank McCoy's voice replies from a speaker.

"Need you to meet us in the infirmary. We have company," Logan informs him.

"I'll be right there," Hank replies.

Logan watches Forge tear away the rest of the tarp before lifting the unconscious mutant and carrying him inside.

"We better get down there. Have someone check that backpack," Logan instructs before leaving for the infirmary. He wonders what Toad's story is and makes a note to watch the security footage once he is sure the situation is under control.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 7
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that evening, Mortimer wakes up. At first all he feels is pain and has a hard time opening his eyes. After a few moments, he is able to open them both, though only the left one slightly, and that's when he remembers what happened. Domino knocked him out. She told him that Pietro was going to take himself somewhere. Fearfully he looks around and takes in his situation.

He finds himself laying in a bed surrounded by medical equipment though nothing appeared to be attached to him. A white curtain is wrapped around the bed, almost as if it is shielding him. None of it makes any sense to him. Did Pietro drop him off in some hospital? He is tempted to get up and pull the curtain back but the slightest movement makes him moan in pain. Instead he pulls the blanket he's covered in over his head and waits for something to happen.

For several minutes, all he hears is the beeping from the machines around him. The warmth from being under the blanket nearly lures him to sleep but then he hears voices and becomes fully alert. Soon he will know what situation Pietro left him in.

"As I said, he has several newly formed bruises which indicate that someone or someones used him as a punching bag. There is a cracked rib on the right side but other than that, he should recover just fine in a few days. Four weeks for the rib," A voice explains, growing in volume as they move closer.

Mortimer closes his eyes as he hears the curtain being pulled back. He doesn't resist when he feels the blanket being carefully pulled out of his grasp but he doesn't move or open his eyes. He could feel the strangers staring at him.

"He doesn't look much worse than usual," a familiar voice comments.

"Logan..."

"Just saying Red," Logan replies.

"Toad? Would you mind opening your eyes?" The voice from earlier requests.

Mortimer swallows nervously but doesn't move much less opens his eyes.

"Let me try," the female voice offers.

Mortimer tenses, waiting to feel physical contact.

'Toad?' The same female voice calls out in his mind. 

Mortimer whimpers, as he understands what is happening. A telepath is in his head.

'Easy. I won't harm you. No one will. We just want to talk to you. You're safe here,' the female voice tells him. Strangely, Mortimer begins to feel calmer as she speaks.

Slowly he opens his eyes. Who he see's makes his heart skip a beat. Looking at him are members of the X-men. Beast, Wolverine, and a red haired woman. It takes him a minute to remember her name. Jean Grey, he thinks. Now he knows where Pietro left him. He's at their mansion. He's also currently in the same room as their leader. The man with razors in his hands, razors that can easily skin a toad.

"Let's get down to it. Toad, why are you here?" Logan asks, not wanting to waste any time.

"Ahh...P-Pietro brought me here," Mortimer replies, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"We know that. But why did he bring you here?" Logan asks more specifically.

"B-because I-I called you guys. I be-betrayed them. They kicked me out," Mortimer answers, his voice hitching at the end. He struggles not to cry in front of these people.

"So you were the one who called and told us where to find Forge. Why?" Logan continues to question.

"Because only one of us needed to end up in the MRD," Mortimer replies, repeating the same words he said to Forge earlier.

"I think that's enough questioning for now. He should rest a bit," Beast tells the others before Logan could ask another question. For this, Mortimer is thankful.

"Hmm, alright. But we will talk more next time," Logan promises as he walks away, followed by Beast and Jean.

As they walk out of the infirmary, Forge is heading towards them. Beast holds up a hand to stop him.

"He's..." Beast starts to say before looking over to Jean. Something passes between the two and Beast nods. "He's just inside. I left some medicine next to his bed. Make sure he takes it and keep an eye on his breathing."

Forge smiles and nods before passing them to enter the infirmary.

"I would have never guessed," Hank comments.

"Guess what?" Logan asks.

"Oh, just that something is developing in our young engineer, something that is outside of his field of expertise. Should be very interesting," Hank replies with a grin.

"You lost me," Logan mutters.

"Maybe I'll put it in simpler terms over let's say a few cold drinks?" Hank suggests.

"Now you are speaking my language bud."

Meanwhile Forge quietly approaches the bed. Mortimer is laying on his side, his eyes are once again closed. But as Forge moves closer to the head of the bed, he finds a set of amber colored eyes watching him from narrow slits.

"Hey," Forge greets.

"Hey," Mortimer repeats.

"I want to ask you how you're feeling but I'm guessing that's a really dumb question right about now," Forge tells him.

"Yeah, really dumb," Mortimer agrees.

"Hank left some meds for you to take. To help with the pain. Think you can take them?" Forge asks, looking at the tiny cup with two alieve like pills in it.

Mortimer nods his head and sits up, wincing in pain as he does so. Forge hands him the cup of pills and a cup of water. He watches as Mortimer takes the pills then goes into a coughing fit. Forge waits for it to pass when he realizes that Mortimer has reached out and seized the front of his uniform in his fist.

When the coughing subsides, Mortimer looks at his hand. When did he reach out for the X-man? Why did he? Feeling incredibly stupid, he releases his hand and looks away. His eyes widen when he feels the X-man sit down on the bed. He watches as a pair of arms wrap around him and gently pull him back until he is leaning against the warm chest of the same X-man.

His mind starts to scream at him, telling him this is wrong. He doesn't need anyone's pity. It warns him that his pride, what little he has, is at stake. If he doesn't want to be a joke, he needs to pull away. He should insult the guy for having the nerve to touch him. He didn't even ask! What right does he have to treat Mortimer like a child? Then his thoughts go silent. Mortimer finds himself turning his face towards the man's chest. His hands clutch the front of the man's uniform again. Then, with a shudder, he begins to weep.

This time it is Forge's turn to be surprised. He doesn't know what made him decide he should try to hold the younger mutant. It just felt like the thing to do. He expected to be decked for his efforts or at least shoved away and insulted. He was never really good at these sort of things. Machines were more along his specialty. So having this kind of response has him at a complete loss.

He holds the green mutant as he sobs against his chest, tenderly. Gathering up his nerve, he reaches his mechanical hand up and begins to stroke the dreadlocks of the fellow mutant. Forge's feelings seem to mimic his confusion. There's what he understands. Fear for the condition of the fellow mutant's state. Panic for wondering if this was the wrong thing to do. Sympathy for the situation. Anger towards the Brotherhood. Then there is what he can't understand. The pain in his heart from the green mutant's sobs. The urge to protect him. The growing desire to remain at the former Brotherhood mutant's side.e doesn't know what these feelings mean but they are there regardless.

After a few minutes, Mortimer seems to have regained himself, no longer crying but he doesn't move away. Instead he closes his eyes as he speaks, not wanting to see the X-man's expression.

"You must be really creeped out by now. Having me ball my eyes out on ya and everything," Mortimer says quietly.

"No, I'm not creeped out," Forge replies.

"Come on man, this has to be a little weird," Mortimer mutters.

"It's different. But not really in a bad way," Forge tells him. "Are you uncomfortable?"

Mortimer is quiet for a moment, thinking the question over.

"No," he admits. "But I don't know you."

"We can fix that. Besides, you already know my name. You do remember it right?" Forge asks.

"Yeah. Jonathan Silvercloud, right?" Mortimer asks.

"Right. Just Jon is fine. And yours is Mortimer Toynbee. Can I just call you Mort?" Forge asks.

Forge feels the green mutant nod his head. They remain quiet for a few minutes, neither of them ending the hold. Then Mort starts coughing again.

"You okay?" Jon asks.

"Yeah, just feels strange. Like I can't get enough air or something. Why...why do you even care? Why are you being so nice to me?" Mort asks, finally opening his eyes and looking up at Jon.

"I could ask you the same. When you guys kidnapped me, why were you being so nice? Why were you even talking to me?" Jon asks back.

"I asked first," Mort mutters.

"Well to be honest, I'm still figuring it out. Sorry I can't give you a better answer," Jon admits.

Mort is quiet for a few minutes, shifting slightly so he is laying on his side against the X-man's chest.

"Me too," Mort whispers.

Jon nods his head, understanding what Mort is referring to. After a few minutes he feels the green mutant's body become lax and his breathing slow but normal. 

Meanwhile Logan is in the security room, this time with both Scott and Jean. He watches the security footage playing in slow motion. They watch as the white blur stops at the doorway, giving them a clear image of Quicksilver. He carefully sets down the wrapped body of Toad and the backpack before looking at the security camera. He mouths something to it then takes off.

"Any idea what he's saying?" Scott asks.

"Take care of him," Jean answers.

"What is this all about?" Scott asks with annoyance.

"You got me bub. First the Brother kidnaps Forge, make him build some device then they drop Toad off like a cheap Christmas gift. Things ain't adding up," Logan replies.

"What are we going to do about Toad?" Jean asks.

"I don't know that yet either. Right now he isn't in shape to cause us much trouble. Which gives us time to sleep it over," Logan replies. "In the morning I'll think of something."

"Should we lock him in the infirmary? Just as a precaution?" Scott asks, ignoring the eye roll from Jean.

"Yeah, can't hurt. We still don't know his whole story so we can't afford him sneaking around while we're asleep. What was in the backpack?" Logan asks.

"Just random stuff. A baseball, some comics, a pack of chewing gum, some clothes and a book," Jean answers.

"A book?" Scott asks with a bit of surprise.

"Catcher in the Rye," Jean tells him.

"Hmm, so his basic belongings," Logan mutters. "Well there's nothing more to do tonight. Go on and get some sleep."

Jean and Scott nod and leave Logan behind in the security room. Logan hits a button and his eyes widen at seeing Forge holding Toad. He blinks slowly, as if it will change to something that will make more sense. But it doesn't.

"Huh. So that's why Jean insisted that Forge go to the door. Just when I don't need things to get any more complicated," Logan mutters, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The following morning, Logan heads to the infirmary. He knows that Forge left a few minutes ago to get breakfast, probably for both of them. So this is the perfect time to have a private chat with the Brotherhood mutant. He enters the code and does the palm scan before the doors open for him. He walks straight for the bed he knows the green mutant is in. Sure enough, he is met by a cowering form known as Toad.

"Relax bub. I'm not going to hurt you unless you give me reason to," Logan tells the fellow mutant.

He notices Toad doesn't relax, his knuckles becoming pale from where he holds the blanket covering him.

"Listen, I just want some information. Then I'll leave you alone," Logan tells him. "Let's start at the top, with Forge's abduction. What was that about?"

"P-Pietro wanted him. To b-build something he needed for the next mission," Toad answers weakly.

"Any idea what that something was? Or what the mission was?" Logan questions.

"No. They stopped telling me stuff like that a long time ago. Can't tell the MRD what I don't know," Toad explains as he shakes his head, his eyes never leaving the leader of the X-men.

"Or us apparently," Logan comments. This makes Toad lower his head.

"So then, you were the one who called us. How'd you get the number?"

"I asked for it. I told him I would contact you so you guys can rescue him before Pietro could set him up," Toad answers.

"Hold up. What do you mean set him up?" Logan asks, raising his hand to interrupt.

"I heard the others talking okay? Pietro planned to drop both of us off at the MRD headquarters so we could be caught. I think he planned to have us take the blame for whatever he is going to do," Toad fills in.

"And you don't know what that is?" Logan asks again.

Mortimer again shakes his head.

"Something doesn't make sense. You guys have never been a fan of ours. As far as I knew, that feeling was shared by everyone in your group, including yourself. So why did you call us just to help Forge? To help an X-man?" Logan asks, watching the former Brotherhood closely.

Toad scratches the back of his hand, seeming to think it over.

"Because he is different from the rest of you. He's...more like me. I wanted to help him. Keep him from them," Toad answers so quietly that Logan doubted a normal person could have heard him.

"Were you aware of what could happen to you? How your team mates would have felt about your actions?" Logan continues to question.

"It didn't matter. They were sick of me. They were going to kick me out sooner or later. I just gave them the reason they needed to do so," Toad replies.

Logan stares at the mutant for a few minutes, thinking over what he just learned. It wasn't much but it was something.

"The bruises. Who did that to you?" Logan asks.

"Petrekis. Avalanche," Toad whispers.

"He was the only one who did this?"

"Yes. Pietro just yelled. A lot. Domino knocked me out. Fred didn't do anything," Toad answers, looking away.

"Alright. Well, we're going to have a meeting to discuss this in a few minutes. I'll come back to explain what we decided. Don't cause any trouble until then," Logan warns before leaving, passing Forge carrying a tray of food.

"We're having a meeting in twenty minutes in the war room. Be there," Logan orders before heading to the kitchen to give the same message to the others.

Forty minutes later, Logan shares the information he gathered from Toad with the rest of the team. He had also played the surveillance footage showing Pietro dropping Toad off on their door stop. He sits down and looks at each of them. He could tell they were thinking it over.

"So we're down to this. Do we allow Toad to stay or move him along. I normally would just make the decision but I think everyone should have a say about this. Then we'll vote on it. Agreed?" Logan asks, receiving nods from everyone. "Then who wants to go first?"

"I don't like how we are going by his word. I mean, who is to say Toad is telling the truth," Bobby points out.

"I agree with Bobby. We can't just ignore that he has been part of the Brotherhood for the last few years now. They ain't exactly the honest type," Kitty adds, crossing her arms.

"This is a strange situation," Kurt comments.

"Indeed," Ororo agrees.

"Has he caused any trouble while he was in the infirmary last night?" Rogue asks.

"None that I'm aware of," Hank answers.

"Forge, you got something to add?" Logan asks.

Forge suddenly feels everyone's attention on him. He really hates when Logan does this to him.

"Why are we asking Forge to say something?" Kitty asks with annoyance.

Forge makes a mental note to put any future requests from Kitty to repair her laptop on the back burner from now on.

"He was the one abducted. And seems to know Toad a bit better than we do. Except for perhaps Rogue. Either of you have something you want to add?" Logan asks.

Rogue and Forge exchange looks.

"Ah don't have much to say. I could say that what Pietro did, what they all did, doesn't surprise me. Toad was obviously their weakest member. And most annoying," Rogue states.

"Lovely," Kitty mutters.

"Forge?" Logan directs.

"Well, I don't know him all that well. I was only there for a few days. But I can tell you that he gave me some food that he later got in trouble for. He told me to break the devise because he found out that they were going to take me to the MRD. And he called you guys so you can rescue me. Logan has already told you how they reacted to that. He's...lost right now," Forge shares with the team.

"Are we just deciding that he is staying here or possibly joining the team?" Kitty asks, her face revealing that she is not fond of either idea.

"Staying for now. He will need to earn our trust. And that's not going to be easy. I know it and so do you all. Look, I ain't exactly feeling great about this issue. But there is something we need to consider," Logan tells them with a sigh.

"And what is that?" Bobby asks.

"We need to think of what the Professor would have done," Jean fills in for Logan.

The whole team remain silent for a few minutes. When Logan believes they have had enough time to make a decision, he asks them to vote.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 8
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Mortimer is sitting on the bed, his body tense. He has been scratching his knees for the past five minutes, the green skin already raw and bleeding. But he barely notices it. Right now he is trying not to panic but failing miserably. He doesn't understand why Pietro dropped him off with the X-men of all people. He's not sure who terrifies him more, Colonial Moss or Wolverine. And the rest of the X-men are sure not to be happy about him being here. The only one who might not mind is Jon. Still, one against the rest of the team are not good odds.

He glances at the door for the hundredth time. He is tempted to just hop on out of here as fast as he can. Save them the trouble of booting him out themselves. But the only thing that's stopping him is figuring out where to go. Where could he possibly go? The very few options that come to mind all end him in one location. The MRD detainment camps. Sure, he might not end up there for months if he's lucky but he is bound to end up there at some point.

So the only real option is to wait and maybe he will get real lucky and the X-men will let him stay. He sighs. He doesn't believe there really is a chance of that happening. Heck, Rogue who has spent time with him when she was with the Brotherhood, is probably warning them against the idea. Pointing out his history of being a thief, a car jacker and all around nuisance to the general public. The local police know him by name for God's sake! He moans as he takes in his situation and see's how hopeless it really is. Maybe if he begs Wolverine, promise to do anything, maybe he can gain a few nights at least in a warm bed.

His breath catches when he hears the doors open. Slowly he looks over and watches Logan approach him. Mortimer can't read his expression and this scares him even more.

"Well, we've discussed it. And we reached a decision," Logan tells him.

Here we go, Mortimer thinks. They don't want him either. Still, maybe when their leader is finished talking to him, he can make some kind of deal. He would become a target dummy for Cyclops if that's what it would take.

"The team has agreed to let you stay as long as you abide by certain conditions," Logan states.

"Say what?" Mortimer asks, looking at Wolverine in disbelief. There's no way he heard that right. No way at all.

"You can stay kid. Just have to follow some ground rules and you will be fine," Wolverine repeats, crossing his arms.

"Re-really?"

"Yes. Need a minute or should I continue?" Wolverine asks.

Mortimer shakes his head.

"As I was saying, there are certain ground rules that we expect you to follow. No using your 'powers'. I'm sure you understand what I am referring to," Wolverine tells him.

Mortimer nods his head, too afraid to speak and some how screw up this opportunity. If no slime spitting let's him stay, so be it.

"No picking fights with the anyone. You have a problem with someone, come get me so I can make sure it's handled as peacefully as possible. I don't want to hear any complaints of things going missing. Or getting damaged. Just keep out of trouble and you should be fine," Wolverine finishes. "Any questions?"

Mortimer shakes his head.

"Everyone has agreed to give you a chance. My advice would be not to screw it up. Lastly, if you need to talk, you can stop by the Professor's office anytime. I may not always be there but Ororo or Hank usually are and they're good at that kind of thing. I think that's about everything. You alright kid?" Wolverine asks, noticing how still the kid seems to be.

"Uh, yes sir?" Mortimer replies, nearly whispering it.

"That will have to do I guess. Your name is Mortimer, isn't it? That's what shows up in the MRD reports," Wolverine asks, also explaining where he received the data so hopefully the kid doesn't freak out on him.

"Yes sir," Mortimer replies, nodding as he answers.

"Uh huh. Name's Logan by the way kid. No need for calling me sir," Logan tells him. He looks the nervous kid over, still sensing the green mutant's fear. Hopefully with time that will get better, Logan tells himself. "Anyway, I'll let Forge know he can show you to your room. Two of you will be room mates for the time being."

Mortimer nods and watches Wolverine leave the room. When the dangerous X-man is out of the room, he takes a deep breath, ignoring the pain from his rib cage. Did that just happen, he wonders. He is really being allowed to stay? Did they all get amnesia and forget who he is? Or who he was involved with? There's no way these guys could be that...good. Maybe there is something more they want from him but are willing to wait before asking for it until he's trusted them. At this point, Mortimer will gladly give them whatever they want. Specially if it means he has a place to live for awhile.

He is smiling when Jon enters the room. Jon smiles back when Mortimer looks up.

"Ready to get out of here?" Jon asks.

Mortimer quickly gets out of bed and hops over to Jon.

"So Wolverine said we're sharing a room?" Mort asks.

"His name is Logan. And yeah, looks like it. Are you okay with that?" Jon asks.

"Heck yeah! You are like the only one I'm kinda on good terms with around here. Imagine if I had to share with Cyclops. All the times I slimed his shades...," Mort trails off, his smile fading.

"Don't worry. Logan did tell you that they all agreed to let you stay here, right? Scott included," Jon tells him.

"Yeah, that's what I heard. But why are they letting me stay here?" Mort asks.

"Why not?" Jon asks.

"Uh, because I'm Toad? Not only am I a...former Brotherhood member, but let's face it, my mutant powers are a joke," Mort answers, his voice trailing off.

Jon watches him, his own smile gone. He tries to think of something to say but nothing comes to mind so they enter the elevator in silence.

When they step out, Mort is impressed by what he see's. No wonder Pietro hates the X-men so much. This place is like a palace compared to most of the places the Brotherhood has shacked up in. Even when they score a place in the high end part of town, it was never anything like this. But now he will be living here. The idea still seems so unreal.

"So this is your first time being inside here, right?" Jon asks.

Mort nods his head, looking around.

"It can seem massive at first but after a few days, you'll get use to it. Unless you're like me which was more like two weeks. Sometimes when I'm not paying attention, I still get lost," Jon admits.

"Really?" Mort looks up at the taller man with a doubtful expression.

"Now and then, yeah. But not too often,"Jon answers truthfully.

Jon continues to lead him up the stairs and down the hall on the right. They stop at the fourth door down with three post it notes stuck to the door.

"It never ends," Jon mutters as he picks off the sticky notes.

"What are those?" Mort asks.

"Things that either need repairing or upgrading or something. That's about the sum of my job around here. When I'm not on the field anyway. Which is pretty often," Jon mutters this last part.

This time it is Mort's turn to struggle with a response but nothing comes to mind. When Jon opens the bedroom door and walks inside, Mort follows. He looks over the room and marvels at the size of it. He can't believe a room this size was just for one guy. Heck, Fred could actually have a room mate if he had a room this size. As he looks around, he finds his backpack in the corner.

"What is this doing here?" Mort asks as he walks over to it.

"Oh, that was found next to you. It is yours, isn't it?" Jon asks.

"Yeah, well, sorta," Mort mutters. Almost all of this is stolen property, Mort thinks. Actually, all of it is. He's never really cared before now but he can't bring himself to admit it out loud to Jon.

"Well, later someone should be bringing in a bed for you. Dresser too," Jon tells him.

Mort nods and leaves the pack. Instead he goes to the second thing that catches his interest. At the other end of the room is a pair of red curtains. Jon watches as Mort pulls these back and looks out through the glass door that leads to the balcony.

Mort looks at the gray sky, the large green lawn, the fountain and then the hole in the wall. This widens his eyes. Without realizing it, he opens the door and slowly walks out to the balcony. He walks up to the balcony railing, his hands touching it lightly as if it is made of glass. His eyes narrow, looking more animal like than human at the moment, as they move from the hole in the wall to the spot he was crouched on when he first saw the X-man standing behind him. He was there and now he was here. It is almost to hard to believe.

"Mort? You okay?" Jon asks.

Blinking, Mort steps back from both his thoughts and the railing and turns to look at his room mate.

"Um, yeah, yeah I'm good," Mort mutters.

He steals one more glance at the shattered wall before going back inside and closing the door.

"So um, since your bed isn't here yet, would you like to tag along with me as I take care of a few of these?" Jon asks, waving the sticky notes. "You don't have to of course. I mean, if you rather stay here..."

"Uh, will that be okay? " Mort asks.

"Yeah, why not. Besides, it might be nice to have company that doesn't try to add to my workload every few minutes," Jon replies with a sigh as he tosses the post it notes in the trash.

"If you don't like it, why do it?" Mort asks directly. He could tell that the post it notes had somehow bothered him.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing like that. Anyway, better get to it," Jon says as he leaves the room. Mort cocks his head slightly but follows in silence.

Hours later, Mort is hopping down a hallway, looking a bit frazzled. He looks behind him before turning the corner. When he finds yet another hallway with doors, he sighs. He's lost. He hadn't paid any attention to where they were going as he followed Jon from one job to the next. His mind had been focused in other things. Like the expressions the engineer made as he worked or trying to hear every mutter the man made, whether he understood it or not. If he wasn't focused on those things then it was wondering why he had been focusing on these things.

But now he was only focused on one thing. Where the heck is the main hallway? Logan had intercepted them before they entered the Danger room and pointed out that Toad is still working on the trust part. Therefore, certain sections of the institute were off limits. Danger room was on that list of places he wasn't welcomed at. Jon tried to argue but Mort claimed he was tired and would wait back at their room. He even lied saying he knew how to get back.

So that resulted in him wandering around. He thought they had only gone two floors down. And only one hallway. Apparently he was wrong about that. How many floors can this place possibly have? Why isn't there a map somewhere? He spots an open door and despite the voice warning him not to go anywhere near that door, he does.

Peeking in he finds himself looking into a section of the mansion that connects outside, creating a large green house. Everywhere he looks, he see's various plants and flowers. Stepping inside to get a better look, he notices all the windows letting in light. A slight hiss goes off and a light spray of water hits him. He steps out of the range of the spray, moving further into the space. It's now that he hears a woman humming. A tune that sounds strangely familiar but Mort can't seem to place it.

Again his mind tells him to turn around and get out of there now that he knows that he is not alone. Whoever it is is bound not to be happy with him intruding in whatever they are doing. But again, he ignores the warning. Crouching down, he hops forward and peeks around a large fern like plant. He finds the source of the humming a bit further down the make shift path amongst the plants. A tall white haired woman who trims one of the plants as she continues to hum. He watches her as she sets the gardening shears down and forms the smallest rain cloud he has ever seen between her hands and place it above the plant. She smiles as the cloud rains down gently on the plant before moving slowly to the next one.

"It is not polite to peep on people," Ororo comments without looking back.

Mort nearly cries out in surprise but manages to control himself. Instead he steps out into the small opening.

"Sorry," he mutters.

"Are you exploring the grounds or something?" She asks.

"Um, actually, I kinda got lost," Mort admits, looking away.

"That happens a lot around here," Ororo states as she turns to look at Toad. She watches the former Brotherhood member closely, appearing to be considering something.

"I'll just go now," Mort says and crouches down to hop away.

"Just a moment," Ororo calls out, succeeding in stopping the fellow mutant from fleeing.

Mort stops and cautiously looks back.

"It's easy to get lost. But harder to ask for help. Specially from former enemies. Isn't this true?" Ororo asks as she approaches him.

"Huh?" Mort asks, the words not making any sense to him.

"I was pointing out that you are afraid to ask me to help you find your way," Ororo replies.

"Um, yeah, I guess that's right," Mort mutters.

"Where are you trying to go?" Ororo asks.

"My room. I mean, Forge's room," Mort answers nervously.

"Well, allow me to show you the way. And no need to be so nervous. This is your home too now and you share a room with Forge. That makes it yours too," Ororo states, offering him a kind smile.

Mort doesn't reply. He follows Ororo out of the green house and down the hall. She walks with confidence, Mort notices. Then he thinks that of course she would, this is her home. They enter the hidden elevator. Mort presses himself into the far corner. They ride in silence and when the door opens, Mort allows Ororo to leave first.

When he comes out, he spots Rogue and Kitty chatting as they walk towards the elevator. When they see him, they stop. He smiles, nearly breaking into a fit of laughter. It's just like before. When Toad would walk or hop into a room while Pietro and Domino were talking or Fred and Avalanche or whoever, they would stop the minute they saw him, just like these two. Can't talk with the Toad around. Must be some unwritten rule that follows him.

As they walked pass, he hears Rogue mutter that 'that didn't take him long'. Kitty of course replies with the question 'wonder what he was up to.' So they believe he was caught causing some trouble. He feels an urge to argue but quickly let's it burn out within himself. What could he possibly say that will make them believe him? As he follows Ororo, he swears that he is just going to stay inside the bedroom from now on.

"I will talk to them. They shouldn't make assumptions based on your past. If we looked at each other that way, well, we wouldn't trust anyone here," Ororo tells him.

"Thanks but let's face it. I've lived up to those assumptions," Mort replies, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Did you know I was a thief when I was a child? We all have a past. We should be judged by what we do now, not the actions of our past," Ororo tells him.

This causes Mort to look up at the white haired woman. Never would he have imagined that she had such a past. And to reveal that to him so openly, he doesn't know how to begin to even process that. He certainly wasn't told anything this personal with the Brotherhood. Then he remembers that they never told him anything. He looks back down to the ground and walks slowly next to the female X-man in silence.

To Mort's surprise, they are standing in front of a bedroom door after only a few minutes. This only makes Mort feel worse and strengthen his resolve to never venture of the room again. He reaches for the door knob just before he hears her voice.

"My name is Ororo. If you ever need anything, feel free to ask me," Ororo tells him.

Mort looks up cautiously only to see her smiling at him kindly.

"Uh, thanks. Mortimer," Mort mutters, giving his real name again. It was starting to feel strange since before Toad seemed to do just fine. But something was changing. Toad doesn't seem to be enough anymore.

"Mortimer? Well, I will see you later then," Ororo replies and starts to walk away.

"Your garden..." Mort nearly jumps from hearing his own voice. He hadn't meant to say his thoughts out loud.

"Yes?" Ororo asks, turning to watch him, waiting for a reply.

"Ehh, it's nice," Mort mutters, groaning at how stupid that sounded to his own ears.

"Thank you. If you wish, you may visit there anytime. Just be careful with the flowers, some are very delicate," she tells him. She gives him a smile and a nod before continuing back to her green house room.

Mort watches her, confused by what she said. It sounded like she was allowing him to visit the green house again. But the comment about the flowers sounded more than just a gentle request. Maybe she was trying to be polite but also clear that she didn't want him in there? That she didn't want the slimy green mutant to touch her beautiful flowers? Mort sighs, agreeing that this must be what she meant.

He goes into the bedroom and notices the new bed and dresser that had been set up at sometime while he was either with Jon or wandering around lost. He moves to these pieces of new furniture, examining them. They look fresh out of a store display. He is tempted to open the drawers but decides not to. He knows they are empty and he doesn't have that much to put in them.

Instead he turns to the neatly made bed. His hand stretches out and lightly touches the dark blue comforter that is spread across the top of the bed. Slowly he pulls back the blanket, expecting to find some evidence of a prank of some sort there. Wet sheets, tacks, something. It wouldn't be the first time someone had done so. But underneath there is a simple plain light blue cotton sheet.

Suddenly he jerks his hand back as if burned. Pity, he thinks. They are pitying him. All because he had been dumped off literally on their door stop. The poor Toad. The Brotherhood finally had enough of him. He glares down at the bed and backs away from it. Instead he goes to his small little backpack in the corner. The backpack that held his only belongings.

Slowly he opens it and pulls out the items. The baseball that he rolls between his hands. The comics which he glances through briefly. The book that he has read several times without the gang knowing, some of it's pages having to be tucked back in. The pack of chewing gum with only two sticks left. Cinnamon. It burned his tongue every time but it helped with boredom now and then. Then the little bit of clothing that he knew had a smell and a few stains. He sets these out in front of him and looks at them. His only possessions from his life with the Brotherhood. Possessions he had to steal to own. Trash. Unwanted items. Like him.

Anger burns inside of him and without thinking he grabs the comics and shreds them. He does the same with the book. He becomes frustrated when trying to tear the clothing and settles for tossing them across the room. Finally he picks up the ball and without another thought, he tosses it. He watches it soar through the air with a satisfied smile until he realizes where the ball was headed. In a speed that would have Pietro impressed, Mort whips his tongue out and it sticks to the ball before it hits the glass. But due to the momentum, it still hits the glass on the balcony door.

Mortimer flinches when this happens, thinking his tongue is going to come back full of glass. But when it doesn't, he sighs with relief. The ball drops from his tongue to his hand. He looks down at the ball in his hand for a moment before letting it drop from his hand. He kicks the backpack away before he sits down in the corner and wrapping his arms around his knees, he closes his eyes and tries to disappear from this life.

Meanwhile, Forge finishes his work in the Danger Room for the moment and gets up, looking around. Of course none of the upgrades were noticible. The room wasn't active at the moment. All the little devices and additions he has made lie behind the steel plated walls, waiting to be needed. Forge sighs.

Another reason he see's this room as his. He feels it reflects him perfectly. He sits on the sidelines while his team fights the good fight. Often waiting for a moment to be useful. Until then, he was useless. Asleep. He thinks about the Blackbird. His one pride and joy. Another reflection but more of his dreams and ambitions than his actual place in life. The Blackbird is a powerful jet, needed for all the missions his team mates go on. Even though he acts mortified by it's often ragged condition when it returns, he actually felt very proud of it's battle scars. Scars he will never earn.

Shaking his head, he picks up his tool kit and rags and leaves the Danger room. He takes only two steps before there is a loud thunderous boom and the power goes out.

"Oh come on!" Forge moans.

He reaches up and taps a tiny button on his goggles, giving his a tiny ray of light. He heads to the emergency ladder that will take him to the basement where the backup generator is. But after setting his tool box aside, he just stands still and listens, counting mentally to himself. Maybe the power will turn back on in a few minutes. Maybe someone else will start up the back up generator. When he reaches two hundred, he sighs.

He is about to step on the ladder when he hears someone call out to him from behind.

"Hey Forge!"

Turning around, Forge's small light reveals Bobby who is walking up to him.

"Hey Bobby. Something I can help you with?" Forge asks.

"You know the power is out, right?" Bobby asks with a smile.

"Really? Hadn't noticed," Forge mutters with an eye roll.

"I'm just messing with you. But seriously, Logan wants you to get the generator going and power directed into the hanger. We have to go and find another world wide threat to mutant kind," Bobby tells him.

"I was just about to start the generator. I'll get power to the hanger them meet you all..." Forge replies as he reaches out for the ladder.

"Um, don't think we'll need you for this one. No machines or computers or anything. Sorry man. Maybe next time," Bobby says, giving Forge a pat on the shoulder.

What a surprise, Forge thinks bitterly to himself.

"No problem. I wouldn't want to try maneuvering in this kind of weather anyway," Forge tells Bobby even though he can hear the icy mutant has started to walk away.

"Okay, I'll tell Logan you're on it," Bobby calls out before he disappears into the darkness.

Forge mentally wishes that he walks into a wall. As he climbs down the ladder, he wonders what threat the team will be facing this time. He hadn't even been called into the briefing he realizes. That has been happening more and more lately. He's being left out of the loop deliberately. All because of his lousy mutant power.

He continues down a dark tunnel at the end of the ladder and tries not to let his thoughts get to him. Soon he has the generator up and running and after imputing a few commands into the mainframe, he has the power feeding into the hanger. He waits and soon feels the rumbling as the pool shifts apart, opening the hidden hanger. He could see his pride and glory lift up and blast away. Several minutes later the rumbling stops and the house settles.

Alone again. And it's still raining. Hopefully he won't get kidnapped again. Or taken apart like some cheap Ken doll. As long as those two particular events don't happen, then maybe it won't be a really lousy day. Just a gloomy, rainy day. Then something comes to mind. Scratch that. Someone. Forge suddenly remembers that he isn't alone. Mortimer is here. He's up in their room. Maybe he would like some company? There was nothing urgent for him to work on plus he could say he was concerned of using up all the power from the generator on stuff that wasn't so urgent. Nodding to himself, he decides to call it a day.

But when he enters the room, he starts to think that maybe he was wrong about the fellow mutant wanting some company. Standing close by the door, he looks around at the small mess. Clothes had been tossed about as well as ripped up papers. A baseball was now stuck to the floor with a bit of slime. And Toad was sitting in the corner, his face hidden by his green legs that his arms are wrapped around.

"Uh, Mort?" Jon calls out quietly, hoping that his head won't be handed to him in the next few seconds.

Mortimer doesn't respond. Instead he tenses and holds himself even tighter, the knuckles on his green hands becoming paler.

Jon again looks around the room, seeing both the mess and the new furniture. Then his eyes move up to the uncovered balcony door.

"Huh?" Jon asks with confusion as he walks to the balcony door.

Mort glances over and watches the X-man examine the glass on the door. Did he miss something? Or did a bit of his slime get left behind?

"How did this get cracked?" Jon asks.

Mort moans into his legs and returns to hiding his face. He should have checked, he scolds himself. Stupid Toad strikes again.

Jon steps back from examining the small crack and looks through the glass at the rainy scenery. It draws a sigh from him. After a few minutes, he walks over to Mort and sits down next to him.

"I hope this storm passes. The rain is starting to really get to me," Jon tells the silent Mort. "Back home, my family saw rain as a good omen. It gives the plants water they need to survive. Same with the animals. And of course, us. It carries life. Without it, everything would wither up and die. Still, I can't stand it."

"What kind of family did you have?" Mort asks, his voice almost to muffled to be heard.

"A fairly regular family I guess. I mean, every family has something that makes it special but it was just a really down to earth group. And very spiritual," Jon admits.

"Religious? That must have been fun," Mort replies.

"No, not like that. They weren't a religious group. Just spiritual. Like into nature and stuff," Jon tries to explain.

Jon looks over at Morr and for a second he see's Mort's slitted eyes looking at him before he turns away.

"What about yours?" Jon asks.

"What about them?" Mort replies.

"What was your family like?"

"Like everyone else who comes across my path.They were disappointed that I was a mutant. A freak. So they dumped me, turned me over to the state. I barely remember them now," Mort replies.

"I'm sorry," Jon mutters.

"Yeah well don't be. I don't need your sympathy or pity. I don't need it from anyone! So I got thrown away again, big deal! I'm use to it," Mort mutters angrily.

"You're referring to the Brotherhood."

"So what if I am? You guys will probably do it too. And whoever I meet after that. I don't care! Those are the facts of my life! And I hate it!" Mort cries out.

"Hate what?" Jon asks, looking at the torn remains of the book.

"Ain't you listening?! I hate my life! My life!" Mort shouts, finally looking over at the X-man openly.

Jon glances over and it takes every bit of strength to look away. Mortimer's eyes were wide with anger but also filled with pain. Tears were forming and he could tell the young man was struggling to keep from crying. He knows that Mortimer is feeling vulnerable, his current position revealing this. He doesn't want to make Mort feel even worse by staring at him.

Unable to fight them any longer, Mort turns his back towards Jon and cries silently behind his legs. He wonders if the X-man is growing disgust by knowing that he is breaking down. But try as he might, Mort can't stop himself. He is just too tired. Not physically but mentally. He wants nothing more than to crawl under a rock and be left alone.

He thinks about the empty dresser and the bed. Neither item belonging to him. Only being loaned to him. Just like his life. He owns nothing. Everything he has ever had either belonged to someone else or was loaned to him at the mercy of others. Things that can easily slip through his green slender fingers if he messes up. Which he always does. He's at a better place, that much is clear but for how long? He had been with the Brotherhood for a few years now before they finally got rid of him. So maybe he will have a few years here? Maybe he will be given stuff to fill the dresser. But so what if they do? When they kick him out, will they let him take it with him? He doubts it.

He doesn't realize that Jon has gotten up until he hears the balcony door open. Shifting so he can see over the bed, he watches as Jon walks outside into the rain. Forgetting his dark thoughts, he gets up and slowly approaches the open balcony. Jon stands by the railing just as before, the rain again soaking him.

"What are you doing? Trying to get sick or something?" Mort asks, looking up at the grey clouded sky.

"Huh? Oh, no," Jon answers.

"Then what are you doing?" Mort asks, finding himself wondering again if the man's mechanical parts will rust.

"Waiting for the rain to bring me to life," Jon answers.

Mortimer's eyes widen at this response. He thinks it over as he watches the X-man. The x-man that had been left behind by his team. The man who had looked so vulnerable as he sat in the basement with his mechanical limbs missing. The one he betrayed his team for because he didn't want the X-man, the only man who hadn't looked at him with repulsion, to end up at an MRD detainment camp. He didn't want the man to have to look up at the grey skies for what could be the last time he see's the sky.

Then a thought crosses his mind that makes him shiver. That he would do almost anything for the man standing in the rain before him to hold him. Mort steps back from the balcony doorway. Why did that thought cross his mind? Was he that desperate? That lonely? How much lower is he going to get? What would happen if the X-man found out?

His breath catches when Jon turns around and meets Mort's gaze.

"I'm sorry. I must look pretty crazy to you. It's just that...sometimes I...feel like I shouldn't be here. Because I will always get left behind," Jon shares before looking away.

Mort hears Jon's words echo in his mind. Suddenly he finds himself stepping out into the rain.

Jon hears a sigh and looks over, finding Mort standing next to him.

"Why are you out here?" Jon asks.

"Same as you. Waiting," Mort replies with a shrug.

Jon just stares at the fellow mutant who is also getting soaked for a moment before smiling and looking out to the property. Both mutants stand in the rain quietly, lost in their own thoughts. Neither notice the red beeping eminating from Forge's artificial arm.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 9
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

In another time, looking out to what could be very well a wasteland, a lone figure standing watch sighs. The sky darkens, adding to her already sour mood. She tries to distract herself by examining her gun, considering cleaning it for the third time. She hears someone approach her from behind. With a fluid motion she turns and aims the gun at the head of her intruder.

Charles Xavier stops and raises his hands. He stands there for a few silent moments, looking at the blue-ish skin woman with a single dark mark around her left eye. Domino sighs again and lowers her weapon.

"If you don't want to get shot Charles, you shouldn't walk up behind someone," Domino mutters, turning her back to the telepath.

"My apologies. I was only coming to check on how you were doing," Charles explains.

"There's nothing to report," Domino replies sharply.

Charles shakes his head. This woman might be part of his team but she was the most guarded concerning herself. A skill that most likely helped her remain alive and free from the sentinels after all this time. He stands next to her, keeping a comfortable space between them, and looks out. He too notices the skies.

"It looks like we are in for some rain," he comments.

"Yeah. Figures it would rain on the anniversary," Domino replies.

"Anniversary?"

"For someone I know. Today is the day they...well, they didn't make it," Domino explains, her eyes not leaving the darkening skies.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Charles offers his condolence.

"Yeah, well it doesn't help him out any, does it?" Domino asks, her temper flaring.

"You are right, it doesn't. That's why we are trying to change the past so..."

"So we can prevent this future. I heard the speech already," Domino interrupts.

Neither say anything more as the rain starts to fall. After a few minutes, Domino steps out into it and looks up to the storming sky. Charles watches her silently.

"Can we really prevent this from happening?" Domino asks.

"We have to believe we can, Neena," Charles answers firmly.

Domino nods, thinking this over. A thought occurs to her then.

"You know, today is the day you also lost one of your X-men," she tells him.

"Who?"

"His name was Forge. Heard he surprised everyone."

"How so?" Charles asks, recalling the young mutant who could build any mechanical device with ease.

"The way I heard it...he just disappeared. But not before several MRD buildings get blown sky high," she tells him, turning to watch his reaction.

"That doesn't sound like the Forge I know. Do you know why he did it?" Charles asks. He is finding it hard to accept this bit of information.

"Only rumors. But I have a theory. The MRD...began killing mutants in experiments around that time. That's what happened to the guy I use to know."

"And who was your friend?"

"Mortimer Toynbee."

"Toad..." Charles Xavier says the mutant's name quietly.

"He was an annoying kid. Not very helpful for the Brotherhood cause. Did you know he betrayed us in an attempt to save that X-man we were just talking about?" Neena asks, smiling at some memory.

"Really?"

"Really. Pietro was going to dump both of them off at the MRD's headquarters. But I...I couldn't do it. As much as a pain of the rear he was, he didn't deserve that. So, I convinced Pietro to take him to drop him off at your institute," Neena tells him.

"You did the right thing for him," Charles tells her.

"Did I? Sometimes I wonder," she replies quietly.

"How did he end up at the MRD's?"

"You know, I thought he surprised me when I realized he betrayed us for that X-man. But I was wrong. What he did, that's when he really surprised me. For you see Charles, Toad gave himself over to the MRD," Neena tells him, her eyes narrowing.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," Charles Xavier apologizes.

"It's fine. I've had plenty of time to deal with it. Sometimes, I'm glad he isn't here. He wouldn't have made it long," Neena shares quietly. "But I do miss him."

"The past isn't written in stone. Maybe, maybe we can do something," Charles Xavier suggests.

"I won't hold my breath," she replies sharply.

Charles Xavier, the once Professor of the X-men doesn't need to use his powers of telepathy to know that this woman who always has luck on her side, is secretly holding her breath. He walks back into the depths of the caves that he and the few others are currently hiding. Hiding from the Apocolpyse.

Back in current time, Wolverine is looking at a screen filled with numbers. Two days ago, the younger X-man told him they needed to talk concerning some MRD files that Forge somehow got his hands on. They were going to go over them then but other more pressing issues had come up. That and he wasn't so confident that Forge had anything that needed his attention. Last time it was just a inventory list for a local detainment camp. He hopes that for Forge's sake, this file doesn't turn out to be another list.

"Now what exactly am I suppose to be looking at Forge?" Logan asks as he pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Well, it's a coded file that is at the MRD's headquarters," Forge answers.

"I can see that. What I don't see is why you interrupted a training session just to show me a bunch of random numbers," Logan replies with some irritation.

"Oh, uh, just a minute," Jon mutters in frustration as he enters some commands into the computer. Slowly the numbers changed to letters that turn into readable words.

Logan watches this process with disinterest. At least until he read certain phrases. Phrases such as 'staged mutant gathering', 'take into custody as many as possible', 'clone mutant DNA to be extracted', and lastly 'exterminate orgin of samples'. His already stressful day just became a hell of a day.

"What else is in this file?" He asks.

"Well, there's a list of names. I'm guessing it's a list of mutants with powers they are most interested in. Another list of names that have the word 'detainee' next to them. I already checked into those and they are mutants that are currently at the MRD detainment camps. And a series of dates. Future dates to be exact," Forge answers.

"When is the first date?"

"A week from now."

"Alright, I want all this in paper and ready for me to read in the morning. A copy for Hank as well. Right now I am going to try to talk to the Professor. Maybe these dates mean something," Logan replies before walking out of the security room.

Forge watches him quietly. Then he turns back to the screens. With a hit of a few keys, a red bar begins to appear on the various screens, displaying that the copies are being printed. Then he turns his attention to a screen on his left. He hadn't pointed this particular file out. He couldn't. Beneath the MRD logo were the words 'Approved Test Subjects for Mutant DNA Cloning'. Beneath that was another list of names. The fourteenth name on it is Mortimer Toynbee. A special note had been inserted next to the amphibian like mutant's name. 'To be used as soon as subject has been recaptured'. If Forge needed something to make his stomach turn, this was it.

He closes his eyes for a moment. He wants to go back up to his room and check on his room mate despite how silly that is. He knows that Mortimer is there. Hopefully sleeping. Maybe even using the bed. Since the little chat they had, Mort cleaned up the room and then went back to sitting in the corner. Because the old clothes Mort had was in the washer, Forge had gone to the emergency stash and gave him some of the spare clothing they had. When he had left, Mort had been staring at the clothes that had been set on his bed.

No longer able to take it, he leaves. 'Besides', he thinks to himself, 'there isn't anything more for me to do'. As he walks by the living room space, he hears bits of conversation.

"I know the Professor would let him stay but I still don't feel right about him staying here."

"And we still don't know why he was dumped off. I mean, how do we know he told the truth?"

"Just keep an eye on your video games Bobby. He seems like the type to borrow without ever returning it."

"Yeah, I will. But I haven't seen him. Where is he staying exactly?" Bobby asks.

"With me," Forge answers as he walks over to Bobby and Kitty.

"Ah man, I'm sorry," Bobby offers his condolences.

"Need some air fresheners yet?" Kitty asks, wrinkling her nose as she says this.

"No. Why would I need that?" Forge asks with a puzzled expression.

Both Bobby and Kitty turn to look at each other in disbelief.

"Oh, that's right, you never fought him. So you wouldn't what he's really like," Kitty comments.

"Oh yeah. Man, sucks that you have to learn this way," Bobby adds.

"Learn what?"

"Pay attention Forge. Toad isn't like the other mutants we run into. He's one of the bad guys. He chooses to follow Quicksilver and doesn't care about anyone they hurt along the way," Kitty shares.

"Yeah. He can be a real pain, specially when he spits that slime stuff. And the guy naturally stinks," Bobby comments with a grossed out expression.

"You can't trust him. He's a liar, a smelly low life, and if you underestimate him, you'll be sorry," Kitty continues.

"Man, I can't believe you are stuck with him," Bobby comments as he places a hand on Forge's shoulder.

"He doesn't seem all that bad," Forge replies, looking at his team mates, wondering if they are exaggerating just a little bit.

"Forge...You can be really dense sometimes. Or naive. Listen, if you don't believe us, then ask him where he got that stuff in his pack. I'm betting that it's all stolen goods," Kitty mutters.

"Alright, I'll ask him," Forge agrees.

"Good. And if he tells the truth and I'm right, be careful Forge. We love ya here and don't want to see that slime ball take advantage of you. You're too good of a guy sometimes," Kitty compliments as Bobby nods in agreement.

"I...better get going," Forge mutters and walks away from the pair. He isn't concern with with Mort will say when he asks him. He's concerned about Mort's chances of fitting in here. How can he possibly call this home when everyone feels like that about him? Does Mort know that's how they feel? What does the green mutant feel about that? Within minutes, he's standing outside his bedroom door. He pauses as his hand touches the door knob. He wonders what will he do if Kitty ends up being right. Then with a shake of his head, he opens the door.

Looking up as the door opens, he see's a pair of wide amber colored eyes meeting his in alarm. Mort had been in the middle of changing clothes, in fact he was pulling up the sweat pants Jon had found for him. His green back bare, the matching tank top sitting on the bed. Jon can feel his face heating up. His conscience tells him to apologize and turn around. But his body isn't listening.

Instead, Jon slowly looks over the exposed areas of Mort's body. He takes in the muscled upper thighs, knowing the lower part of those legs are the same. He swallows as he raises his view, allowing himself only a quick glance at Mort's small round butt. His eyes follow up Mort's spotted spine until the mutant turns around with a slight hop. Just as the back is, Mort's chest is smooth looking though the bones seem to be a bit too noticeable. It's also spotted, going up his stomach and outlining his upper chest. The skin here seems to be a few shades lighter than the rest of him.

Mort must be feeling self conscious for he tries to use one of his arms to cover his exposed chest. Forge notes that unlike his legs, Mort's arms seem thin but still smooth and appealing. To Jon, that is the one word that he thinks fit Mort at this moment. Appealing.

"Ahhh..." Mort squeaks out.

This snaps him out of it. With his face feeling as if it's on fire, he turns around.

"Sorry!" Jon cries out. "I'll...I'll be just outside. Umm, just get me when you're done."

Jon quickly leaves the room. Once the door closes, Jon smacks his forehead against the doorway. He could not believe he just stood there like some pervert and had been checking out his room mate. What the heck is wrong with him?

Why did he do that? Why is it that since coming back from being kidnapped by the Brotherhood that he seems drawn to the green skin mutant. Like he is some sort of magnet. It makes no sense. And why did reading that file and seeing Mort's name bother him so much? Is it just concern? Curiosity? But if that's true, then why did he think Mort is appealing just now? Why can't he figure out any answers to this?

The door opens and Jon suddenly takes a step back with a surprise cry. When the door widens, he finds Mort standing behind the door, his head low.

"I'm sorry. Next time I'll knock," Jon offers.

"N-n-no. It's your room. I-I should have dressed sooner. Or found a bathroom. Or something," Mort mutters. "And I should be apologizing. I...I didn't mean to gross you out."

Jon is walking into the room when Mort says this last part. He blinks. Did he hear that right?  
"Gross...gross me out?"

"Yeah. Look, I know what I look like. And how everyone see's me. So you don't need to try to be nice to me. I know the truth," Mort replies quietly as he closes the door.

"How long have you felt this way?" Jon asks without realizing he had spoken the question out loud.

"Huh?" Mort asks, caught off guard.

"How long have you seen yourself like that?" Jon asks, this time more firmly.

"Since I could see my reflection,"Mort replies with a shrug.

Jon looks back at his room mate. How could he say such things about himself and act as if it's no big deal? Didn't it hurt? Or has he grown numb to it? "You shouldn't put yourself down like that," Jon hears himself say.

"Oh, so I should just let everyone else say it? Stop beating them to the punch?" Mort fires back, glaring at the X-man.

"That's not what I'm saying," Jon replies, wondering how his statement could imply such an idea.

"You can tell the truth. You're mad that I beat you to the punch," Mort replies with a smirk.

"I said that wasn't what I meant. Why can't you accept that?" Jon asks, growing annoyed with Mort's stubbornness.

"Because it's fake. I know you are trying to do that X-man 'the world ain't so bad' mumbo jumbo. I don't need it. Save it for someone else. Besides, as soon as I get the chance, I'm leaving," Mort adds.

"What did you say?"

"What, you think that just because they dropped me off here, I'm going to be the good Toad and stay?" Mort asks with a grimace.

Mort goes to sit back down in the corner when Jon grabs his arm. He cries out in surprise and stumbles a bit as Jon drags him over to the door. He flinches when Jon swings the door open, making it bang into the wall. Just when he thinks Jon will let him go, Jon pulls him out of the room. He can't help but whimper as he is led down the stairs and out the front door. He see's the other members of the X-men watching them as they pass. His face burns with embarrassment as he is led down the front steps and a ways down the the driveway.

Finally Jon stops but not before flinging Mort forward, who ends up tripping and landing on the small rock path face first. He looks up at the X-man with wide eyes, his palms and knees bleeding but going unnoticed.

"The front gate is that way. Or the hole you and your friends made is over there," Jon directs, his voice flat.

"J-Jon?" Mort whispers the name, alarmed by the change of personality. Then he reminds himself that he doesn't really know Jon.

"You said that as soon as you get the chance, you are going to leave, right? So here's your chance. Get out of here if that's what you really want. And you're right, the world out there does see you as a disgusting, less than nothing mutant. If that's what you want to embrace, than go for it. But here...here things are different. Not everyone here has a closed mind. We know how the world out there see's us. We don't need it brought in here. So go out there and take your bitterness with you. Or drop the act and stay. Your choice," Jon finishes before turning and storming back to the house.

Mortimer watches him, stunned. His mind can't understand what just happened. Why did Jon throw him out? Was it really because of what he said? Instead of getting up, he shifts and pulls his knees up to his chest. He doesn't know what to do. And this brings about it's own form of fear. But stronger than that is the feeling that is forming in his chest when he thinks he just screwed up the only possible chance he had at having a friend.

Hours later, just before dinner, Forge knocks on the office door. He hears Logan telling him to come in. He walks in and sets one of the two files he is carrying on the desk before their leader. Logan is starring out of the window, a cigar between his lips.

"Here's the file. Sorry it has taken me this long to get it to you. Going to give this copy to Hank," Forge reports and turns to leave.

"How is your new room mate?" Logan asks.

Forge freezes. Does Logan know about earlier?

"I don't know," Forge answers honestly.

"Hmm. Well do you know why he's sitting in the driveway?"

Forge doesn't answer. Instead he fidgets with the file in his arm.

"Guess not. Well, if something comes up, you know how to find me," Logan comments without turning around.

Forge nods and leaves the office. Logan glances back when he hears the close. Then he looks back to the green form in the driveway. He has been watching the mutant now for over two hours. He considers again about going out there and talking to the Toad. But he knows the Brotherhood mutant is afraid of him. So if he did try to talk to him, it might just make things worse. He considered asking one of the others to talk to him. But again, he pictured they would have a similar outcome as if he talked to him himself. So he watches him, wondering how long it will be before the green kid will move on his own.

As it turns out, it was only a few more minutes. Logan shakes his head as the Toad hops over to the hole in the wall. He really needed to get that fixed. He puts out his cigar at the desk and as he turns back to the window, he expects to see the green mutant to be long gone. But his eyes widen when he see's Toad carefully hop around, seeming to be looking at the damage. Then he gathers some of the bricks and goes to the hole in the wall. Logan crosses his arms and silently observes Toad as he slowly works on repairing the wall.

"Just when I thought I saw everything," Logan mutters.

A few hours later, Jon notices the sky is growing dark when there is a knock on his door. With a sigh, he gets up and goes to door. He opens it to find the blonde male member of their team, the tips of his hair in ice. Instead of saying anything right away, Bobby covers a yawn.

"Bobby?"

"Hey, you missed dinner. Kitty sent me to check on you," he mutters. Apparently he had been taken a nap when Kitty made him go after Forge.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just working on one of my little projects and loss track of time," Forge offers the excuse with a small smile.

"I'll tell her," Bobby mutters and he turns and walks away.

"Hey Bobby, wait up!" Forge calls out.

The grimace he receives tells him that the call wasn't all that necessary.

"What's up?" Bobby asks, covering another yawn.

"Umm, have you happen to notice if...I mean, have you seen Toad?" Forge asks.

"Toad? I saw him earlier by the wall. Think he's doing some kind of punishment," Bobby answers.

"Punishment?"

"Yeah. He was picking up the area and even trying to fix the wall," Bobby replies as he turns and continues on his way to his room, stretching and yawning again.

"The wall..."

A few minutes later, Jon is standing by the front doors. As it is growing dark outside, he struggles to make a decision. So far the only thing he has done is bang his head against the cool surface of the door.

"Forge?"

Just as he is about to bang his head again out of frustration, he stops at hearing his code name. His face reddens as he turns around.

Jean Grey takes a step back. When she walked by after having an ice cream with the girls, she noticed the engineer standing in front of the door. She thought maybe he was checking the doorbell that no longer works thanks to Kitty's phasing. But when he turns around to face her, she notices how rough he looks. Like he has come down with a big or something. Thanks to her power however she knows it's no stomach or cold bug.

"Jean, Hi," Forge mumbles.

"Are you okay Forge? Something seems to be bothering you," Jean comments, stepping forward until she is standing by his side.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Forge replies, turning to look at the door again.

"He's not mad at you, if that's what you are afraid of," Jean shares quietly.

Forge sighs and leans his head against the door. "You saw?"

"No. But I did hear about you dragging him out. The others think he broke some invention of yours," she shares.

"What? No, it was nothing like that," Forge groans, turning his head slightly to look at the red head.

"I know," she replies.

"I...I lost my temper. He was talking about leaving..."

"And it hurt to hear him say that," Jean finishes for him.

"Something is wrong with me Jean. I can't figure it out," he replies with a sigh.

"Nothing is wrong with you Forge. This is just something you haven't experienced before," she tells him, offering him a smile.

"What am I experiencing?"

"Don't you know what the word for it is? Listen, Forge. You have to take things slow with Toad. This is all new to him too," she advices him.

"He wants to leave," Forge shares. Saying the words out loud depresses him.

"I don't think he does. He's just afraid of being dumped again," Jean tells him. "It's easy to see that life hasn't been very kind to him. Growing up with his mutant gene being so obvious must have been painful for him. All the negative attention he must have received...when all he must have wanted was something positive. He must have become desperate as time went by and settled for any attention someone would give him, not caring what he had to do to get it. But to be dumped off, it must of been like a slap to the face. That all the effort he put into it was a waste. Or maybe..."

Forge lifts his head from the door, holding his breath as Jean pauses in thought.

"Maybe he believes he found something... someone who was worth giving up all the hard work he did to get that little bit. Now he wants only wants to please that one person. But he doesn't know how. And that scares him. That's my guess anyway," she finishes.

"One...person," Forge repeats thoughtfully.

"You look tired Forge. Maybe you should get some rest. Toad will be alright," she tells him.

"Yeah, yeah I guess I could get a little bit of sleep. Thanks," he replies and starts to walk towards the stairs.

"Oh and Forge?"

"Hmm?" Forge pauses and glances back.

"Keep an eye on your balcony. Call it woman's intuition," she tells him with a grin.

"Ah, okay?" Forge replies, giving her a puzzled expression. She waves and walks away, leaving Forge to continue on.

He thinks over what Jean had told him. And he knows she is right. Still, it doesn't help him feel any better. In fact, he feels worse. What was he thinking earlier? Why did he do that to Mortimer? Then he sighs. The answer is rather simple. He wasn't thinking. For some reason, Mort's words hurt and he lashed out.

But why did they hurt? Mortimer should be allowed to do what he wants. Even if that means leaving. But that's not what Forge wants. He wants Mortimer to stay. See if he can get what he needs from them. To see what it's like living without the fear of possibly being left in an MRD detainment camp. Forge knows Mortimer will be treated a lot better here than he was with the Brotherhood. But if that isn't what Mort wants, then he should be allowed to leave. If only he could figure out why he doesn't want Mort to leave.

'Don't you know what the word for it is?'

No, he doesn't. Show him a tool and he'll know not only the name for it but he would know it's purpose to. Point to a switch on the Blackbird and he could tell you it's for the auto pilot or for the cloaking mechanism. Need to rewire Cerbro? Piece of cake. Create a laser blaster shaped like a sentinel for the Danger room, give him a few hours and it's done. Mend issues with someone, well, he's at a loss. Maybe there's a book on that he could read?

Forge enters their shared room and after hitting the switch he looks around. No Mortimer. Only sign of him is the pack in the corner. Jon stares at the pack for a moment. He forgot about asking Mort about the stuff inside it. Doesn't seem important now. Was it even an issue now? He walks over to his bed and lays back, stretching himself as he does this.

'Keep an eye on your balcony.'

Why did Jean make that suggestion? What is so special about his balcony that he has to keep an eye on it? He looks over to the curtain covered area. Deciding what the heck, he gets up and pulls the curtains back.

There, laying curled up on the balcony floor is Mortimer. Forge quickly opens the door and kneels down by the green sleeping form. He looks over his room mate, noticing the minor details. There are tears in the knees of the sweat pants, letting Forge see the dried bloody scrapes. The tank top is filthy from brick dust and dirt and other forms of filth. There is even brick dust in his black dreadlocks.

The fact that he didn't even stir when Forge opened the door shows how tired his roommate must be. The only movement besides his breathing is the shivering he does every few minutes. Forge reaches out to wake him and to try to persuade him to use his bed but stops. Instead he gets up and goes back into the room. He goes first to his bed, pulling off the blankets, then does the same of Mortimer's. He then carries these to the balcony.

Sitting against the railing, Forge works on spreading the blankets, making sure both of them are covered. It doesn't take long for Mort to stop shivering. Instead he shifts and somehow rests his head on Forge's leg without waking up. This small bit of contact makes Forge's heart skip a beat.

In an attempt, he looks up to the night sky. The rains have passed for now so the sky was clear. This made it easy for him to see the stars clearly. With a small smile, he locates various constellations. Little Dipper, Big Dipper, Orion's Belt...even the North Star. With a little bit of knowledge, the stars could give a person direction, he recalls. Maybe he can get some direction for this situation. If not, there is always the book.

Elsewhere, in an office like space, several people are sitting around a large table. They have been having a meeting for the past hour. A small man wearing glasses coughs and stands up, successfully gaining the attention of his fellow peers.

"There is one final matter we need to discuss gentlemen," the man announces, his voice carrying to each of the fellow members.

"This is about that X-man, isn't it?" A voice asks.

Everyone turns, even the small man who slowly sits down. Colonial Wraith Moss enjoys moments like these. Where everyone responds to hearing his voice and giving him their complete attention. As they should.

"Ah, yes, yes it is," the small man replies.

"What X-man?" Another man questions.

"What Mr. Hopkins is referring to is an X-man that goes by the code name, Forge. Through our intelligence, we have learned that this particular mutant's power involves having the intelligence to be able to make any electronic devise imaginable. Even ones that have never been made before," Colonial Moss explains.

"Doesn't sound like much of a mutant power," another man comments before swallowing nervously when Moss glares in his direction.

"It doesn't sound like much but it is actually. Specially for our weapons department. Or our science department," the man points out.

"Or for our Sentinel program," Colonel Moss adds.

"The Sentinel Program? I thought we abandoned it after the last set of issues?"

"We have proof that those issues were a form of sabotage. Something that will not happen again if we have him," Moss replies with a humorless smile.

"How so?"

"Because he was the one who sabotaged the program to begin with. This is what we wanted to suggest. We bring him into custody as soon as he is apprehended in the near future. To pay for his crime, he should be forced to work for the very program he destroyed. In fact, he should be made to improve it," Colonel Moss states firmly.

"Use a mutant for the Sentinel program designed to control the mutant threat? That's a very interesting idea," one of the men comment.

"Exactly. That's why Mr. Hopkins and myself would like to request special permission to take custody of the mutant, Forge, when he is apprehended and make him carry out his sentence with the Sentinel program," Colonel Moss finishes, rolling his eyes at the formality.

"Alright, let's bring this to a vote. All in favor of the request to use the mutant, Forge, for the Sentinel Program, say Ay," one of the men states.

Colonial Moss grins when the vote is unanimous.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 10
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

As the sun begins it's morning rise, Mortimer stirs. His body is use to the early mornings thanks to his leader being a morning person. He gets up off the cold floor and with a quick stretch, he leaves the barren bedroom. He finds his team in the kitchen. He can smell the coffee. Then he notices something is off. They are talking. But he can't hear them. He watches as Pietro turns and says something to him. He see's those thin lips moving. There's nothing but silence. The others are laughing. Still, no sound.

Mortimer is about to touch his ears when Pietro starts to walk towards him. With each step, cracks form on the pale skin of his leader. He looks to the rest of the team and see's the cracks forming on them as well. He knows. He knows something horrible is about to happen. Not caring what their leader will do, he suddenly lunges himself forward, his green webbed hand reaching out. But just as it is about to touch Quicksilver's green and white uniform, the leader of the Brotherhood explodes, dust flying everywhere. As he opens his mouth to scream, the others, one by one, also explode in clouds of dust.

It's Mortimer's scream that wakes Jon. Startled, he looks over and see's Mort is sitting up and shaking.

"Mort?"

The green mutant doesn't reply. Jon leans forward, getting a better look at his room mate. Those amber eyes are wide but seems not to be focused on anything in particular.

"Mort? Are you alright?" Jon asks quietly.

Mortimer gasps as he turns towards Jon. He watches the X-man and waits. Will be turn to dust too?

Jon is growing concern. Mort is finally looking at him. But the fear is clearly seen in those eyes. And he's still shaking.

"Mort, talk to me," Jon encourages.

"Will...will you..."

"Will I what, Mort?" Jon asks, his mind racing with what could be the rest of that question.

"Will you leave too?" Mort asks, his voice barely a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

Mortimer doesn't answer. Instead he looks away, seeming to be thinking of something. Then he notices the blankets. He looks over at Jon again, seeing the blankets across him as well.

"Why did you bring these blankets out here? Why did you sleep out here?" Mortimer asks.

"You were shivering. You get cold pretty easily, don't you?" Jon asks with a kind smile.

"Why did you sleep out here with me though? You...you tossed me out," Mortimer asks, his voice heavy with sadness.

Jon felt as if those words slapped him. And he couldn't deny that he deserved it. He did toss Mort out. "Yeah, I did. And I'm sorry for that," he apologizes.

Mortimer's eyes widen at the apology. That is a first. When these kinds of things happen, it was always turned and twisted until Mort was somehow at fault. That he should expect things like this to happen. But to be apologized to and the other person admitting the fault...that is new territory.

Then his eyes narrowed. It's a trick. To get him to...to do something. Maybe this X-man saw his needy behavior. Something he is always ashamed about. And now he is trying to use that against him somehow. Control. That's it. It has to be. Just like Pietro.

He could almost laugh. He underestimated this X-man. He thought he was like him. His team seems to treat him just as the Brotherhood had treated Mort. Then again, maybe that was an act. Same with all those self defeating comments. He really is stupid. The X-men are playing with him. Jon...Forge included. What else had he expected? Friendship? Something better? Something more? It's always such thoughts that get him into these situations. He should know better by now. There is nothing more for Toad. Never will be.

He sighs as the truth sinks into his gut like a heavy weight. He shivers from the coldness of it. His stomach tightens painfully. The truth really does hurt, he thinks. He remembers what Jon had said yesterday. 'Here things are different.' No they are not. And neither is he. He will cling to them. He will do anything to stay. He already knows he will. And he may end up clinging to this X-man. But it doesn't have to be right now.

Jon waits for a response. He is fidgeting with his glove then his goggles. Maybe Mort didn't hear him? He is about to repeat himself when Mortimer stands up. Again he is alarmed by the strange look on Mort's face. He slowly shifts to his knees and reaches out to touch Mort's hand.

Mort see's the gloved hand reach out to him. He wants to let that hand touch him. He wants it more than anything else at this moment. But instead of letting it touch him, he pulls away and hisses at the man it belongs to.

"Don't touch me!" Mortimer shouts before jumping up onto the railing then over.

"Mort!" Jon calls out but when he gets up and looks over the railing, he see's the mutant hop away towards the hole in the wall. Jon sinks back down to the floor and lightly bangs the back of his head against the railing. When he is sure he will have a headache, he stops.  
"Now what?" he asks out loud.

Over the next few days, Jon still finds himself asking the same question. Since that morning on the balcony, Mortimer hasn't said a word to him. In fact, the amphibian like mutant seems to be doing his best to avoid the engineer. When he believe Mort is sleeping on the balcony but goes to check, he finds him already gone. Same when he goes to the wall that Mort has been trying to fix. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get close to Mortimer.

This put him in a depressive state. One that the other X-men started to notice. With Jean, it was how he would walk into a room, then stop and stare into space for several minutes before sighing and continuing on. With Kitty, it was when anyone would try to say something to him such as asking to repair a laptop, he would open his mouth to answer then close it before walking away. Hank notices by watching his fellow team mate pick up a tool to use on some invention only to set it down and sigh before doing it again. Ororo notices his fits of frustrations that were happening more and more during his projects as she walks past his lab. Bobby comments about how Forge seems to either have something explode in his hands or give him powerful shocks these days when he works in the Danger room. Even Logan had become aware simply by the list of needed maintained growing due to neglect.

In fact, Logan is very riled up over this fact. The X-jet needed some very serious repair work before it can fly again. The Danger room was in danger of being closed for future training sessions. This is not acceptable. And he is on his way to let their engineer know it. Whatever slump he was in, he needed to get over it. Just as he was about to reach the bedroom of the X-man in question, where one of the ladies stops him.

"Logan," Jean calls out.

"Not right now Red. Busy," he mutters and reaches for the door knob.

"Wait Logan. Let me try to talk to him first. I think I can help him," Jean tells him.

"Help him?"

"Forge is going through something. You must have noticed how he's been lately," Jean replies.

This stops him. He hates to admit it but he hasn't really paid too much attention to the younger man. Not on a personal level anyhow. Been other things that have always needed his attention. Like stopping the future Charles has been showing him. And handling the MRD. And the Brotherhood. Maybe he's been overlooking a few things. For the hundredth time, he wonders why Charles made him the X-men's leader.

"Err, fine. Give it a shot red. But if he isn't on those repairs of the X-jet by morning, then I will be having a little chat with him," Logan warns as he starts to walk away, thinking that he also needs to have a chat with Toad.

Jean catches this thought and quickly turns toward Logan.

"Logan, one more second," Jean calls out, hoping the gruffy Canadian will stop. She sighs when he does.

"Is there something else Jean?"

"Yes there is. It's about Toad. You know he's been working hard on fixing that wall right?" Jean asks.

"Yeah, I noticed," Logan replies, his eyebrows rising slightly as wonders where this is going.

"I'm just pointing that out. Maybe the next time you talk to him, you can, you know, tell him he's doing a good job?" Jean suggests.

"Huh," Logan grunts, thinking this over. All he had planned to do was tell the kid that a team is expected to come in the next morning and fix the damage. Make a clear suggestion that he is expected to stay out of their way. He wasn't sure how to go about this without the little green hopper getting freaked out. So maybe Jean's suggestion is the solution?

Jean smiles as she watches their leader walk away, mulling over her advice. She looks back at the bedroom door before her and knocks. She hears a unintelligible reply and opens the door.

Inside she finds the engineer standing by the balcony doorway, staring out. She gentle closes the door and walks up to him.

"The other night didn't go so well, did it?" She asks.

Forge sighs and looks over at the red haired telepath. He shakes his head then looks back out. "Night wasn't so bad. It was the morning that things got...weird."

"Have you tried talking to him since?"

"He won't come near me. Or if I get close, he vanishes. I guess he's either mad at me or he hates me. I don't know what to do," Forge replies.

"I see. Forge, remember last we talk? And I asked you that question?"

"Question?" Forge repeats.

"About the word that describes your feelings? About him?" Jean emphasis's.

"Oh, that question. I...I don't get it," Forge admits.

"How about 'love'?" Jean suggests.

"Love? You mean...as in...I love Mort?" Forge asks as he turns towards her, his face paling.

At the same moment he says these last few words, Kitty phases through his bedroom door, her mouth open, ready to start the planned rant she has concerning her laptop. But when the words that Forge just said sink in, she stops cold.

Jean is alarmed when she realizes that they have another person in the room. She looks back at Kitty than at Forge. She almost bursts out laughing for they both have identical looks of horror on their face. If this was any other situation, she would. But she needs to think fast before this gets too tense.

"What did you say?" Kitty asks before Jean think of what to say.

"S-s-say?" Forge stammers, his face slowly turning red.

"Yes, Forge. Did you say that you...love Mort? As in Mortimer? Toad?" Kitty fires her questions off.

Forge raises his hands as if to surrender or defend himself. "I...I..."

"Kitty, calm down. Forge is still figuring that out," Jean says as she steps in between them.

"Calm? How are you calm after hearing that? That is...it's messed up! First he gets kidnapped then Toad gets dropped off like the morning paper and now somehow he's in love with him? That makes no sense!" Kitty cries out.

"It doesn't," Forge agrees quietly.

"Forge?" Jean speaks the fellow team mates name with concern.

"She's right. It doesn't make sense," Forge says quietly.

"It's not whether it makes sense or not. Or if it seems messed up like Kitty said. It's about how you feel Forge. Is that how you feel?" Jean asks, firing a warning look at Kitty who is about to say something more but stops.

"How I feel..."

"Yes Forge, how you feel. We are going to go now. Give yourself time to think about it. And also you might want to start working on the jet before Logan tears into you," Jean tells him before she turns and walks towards the door, gesturing for Kitty to follow.

Kitty glares over at Forge but follows Jean. Once the door is closed, she turns her attention to Jean. "What is going on?"

"You heard the same thing I did," Jean replies.

"Seriously? He likes Toad? Toad?" Kitty asks.

"Kitty, he's figuring that out. And so what if he does like or love Toad? Does it really matter?" Jean asks.

"Of course it matters! He's...he's..."

"Toad? Okay, take away what you find repulsive about him. What do you have left?" Jean asks.

"Not much," Kitty replies.

"Really? Or is that because we don't know the real Toad?"

"The real Toad?" Kitty repeats, dumbfounded.

"Kitty, we need to give him a chance. It's clear that the Brotherhood are done with him," Jean states. Kitty opens her mouth to say something but Jean raises her hand. "Think about it Kitty. Did you see the bruises on him? The swollen eye he had when he was dropped off? And how he was dumped off? Don't forget why he was dumped off, why he got the bruises. He got them because he called us so we could rescue Forge. If I remember correctly, it was you he spoke to."

"Yeah, it was. Still hard to see him as anything but a real slimy creep though," Kitty mutters.

"Talk to him. See for yourself if there's more to him. Maybe convince him to talk with Forge," Jean suggests.

"Does this really not bother you at all?"

"Not really. Like you, I don't see the attraction. But if it makes Forge happy, then good for him," Jean replies.

"And why are you trying to help them with this?" Kitty asks the older woman.

"Haven't you noticed? Before Forge was kidnapped?"

"Before? I don't get it," Kitty replies, shaking her head.

"Forge has been feeling low lately. I believe he's been questioning his place with us," Jean shares somberly.

"Why? Now that doesn't make any sense. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have Cerebro, the jet..." Kitty lists off using her fingers.

"We know that. But does he? When is the last time he went on the field with us?"

"It's...it has been a while. But he's the one who destroyed the Sentiel program!"

"True. But as you said, it's been awhile. And the Sentiel program was a couple years ago. I know not many of the others have noticed, but since meeting Toad, Forge seems to be...almost waking up. If they get past this, I think all of us will see a different Forge," Jean shares with a smile.

"A different Forge? I guess that wouldn't be all bad. Considering if he was becoming unhappy before..." Kitty trails off in thought.

Jean nods in agreement. It's times like this that she is grateful to be back with the X-men. She knows none of the others would have caught this. Nor would they know how to help. Wolverine is a leader and still struggles with the responsiblity of that role. Just as Scott struggles with the role of supporting and following. Hank is easily seen as both the muscles and brains, using which ever is needed at the time. Kurt adds the needed light heartedness that these stressful times needs and the bravery to go through them. Ororo can bring the calm they all need as well as offering nurturing as she does with her plants to help them all grow. Both Kitty and Bobby serve to remind them of the hope they need to make things better for the younger generation. They are also the youth and energy of the team. As for Jean herself, she would be shy to admit it but she could say she is the heart of the team.

"I just realized something," Kitty shares, bringing Jean out of her line of thought. "We...we have been taking Forge for granted, haven't we?"

"I think we are all guilty of that, yes."

"Well, I'm going to try to talk to Toad. If he slimes me though..." Kitty mutters as she walks away.

Jean watches as Bobby pops out of his room and Kitty simply grabs his arm and drags him along. She smiles and shakes her head. It is good to be with them all again.

Meanwhile, Logan is walking back to the institute. He is watched by a pair of large amber colored eyes. The owner of those eyes finally releases a held breath. Mortimer's knees had been shaking the moment he saw the burly man approach him. He thought of hopping away as fast as he could. Then he remembered that he's here because of the same man. Hopping away might not only get him kicked out but also a few new scars.

So he crouched down and waited. He watched the man look around, examining the piles Mort had. He tried to clean up and keep what bricks could still be used to the right, the rest in a pile to the left so it can easily be gathered and removed. When the leader of the X-men turned his gaze on him, Mortimer could only swallow in fear.

What Logan had said next through him for a real loop. Logan told him he has done some good work. Really impressive work. The compliment seemed a little forced as if the Canadian had troubled getting it out but Mortimer accepted it all the same. He would accept anything as long as those claws don't come out. No claws means it's all good.

Mortimer listened as Logan informed him that a crew is expected to arrive the following day to finish the repairs. Mort felt his stomach sink with this bit of news. After Jon had thrown him out, he came up with the idea that if he fixed the wall, they wouldn't mind so much of him staying. He only went inside for water and bathroom needs. He planned to sneak in at night for food but Jon had been leaving plates out on the balcony. That was something else. He wouldn't even let himself sleep in their fancy mansion. Instead he slept on the balcony.

But now that he won't be able to work on the wall, what else could he do? He actually pushed himself to ask this out loud. Logan told him that he doesn't need to feel like he needs to earn his keep. He repeats the conditions and the agreement the team made for him to stay. Logan instructed him to get a shower and then grab something to eat. No more working on the wall. If he wants to do something, Logan suggest he help Forge with the repairs. He even granted him permission to go into all the areas he wasn't allowed to go in previously.

Before he could ask if there was anything else he could do, the X-man was already walking away. Still crouched down and looking at the direction of the institute, Mortimer tries to figure out what to do. Things weren't okay with him and Jon. Not in the slightest. After being rather nasty after Jon had tried apologizing, he doubted the X-man wanted anything to do with him. Sure he has tried to go to Mortimer. But Mortimer is too afraid to hear what he will say. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Why does he always seem to screw these things up?

And when he spots Kitty and Bobby walking over towards him, he repeats these thoughts. Again he considers hopping away. Neither have claws after all. But then again, one of them could turn him into a toadicle. He and the cold were never on friendly terms. So he remains in the same position as he was with Logan.

"Hey Toad," Kitty greets, trying her best to offer a friendly smile while Bobby keeps glancing at her in confusion.

He raises a hand and waves it slightly.

Kitty stops when she see's the hand. It is Toad's usual green webbed hand but two of the claw like nails had broken and one of the fingers had dried blood on the knuckle. "Are you okay? That looks painful," Kitty asks.

Toad's large eyes blink, then narrow as he examines his hand. He does the same with the other that isn't in much better shape. He flexes them then shrugs.

"You should get those taken care of. It would be pretty bad if they get infected or something," Kitty tells him.

Mortimer just nods

"What are we doing exactly?" Bobby whispers to Kitty.

"Trying to get to know him," Kitty tells Bobby. "So Toad, why are you fixing the wall?"

"Trying to stay out of the way," Mort answers.

"Oh. You know, umm..." Kitty tries to think of something to say.

"Does it have to do with Forge dragging you out here the other day?" Bobby asks suddenly.

Kitty smacks Bobby on the arm. She see's the widening of Toad's eyes. "Forge dragged you out here?"

Mortimer nods slowly, lowering his head.

"Yeah, it was kind of sad to see. What did you do anyway?" Bobby asks, stepping a side in case Kitty tries to smack him again.

"I-I said that I was going to leave," Toad answers quietly.

"Why?"

"I...I'm not wanted here," Toad answers truthfully.

Kitty thinks about this. So Toad said he was going to leave because he believes no one wants him here. As true as that is, why did that upset Forge? Then she remembers what's Jean had said. And why she is out here in the first place.

"Do you understand why Forge dragged you out?" Kitty asks.

"Because of what I said," Toad repeats.

"Okay. Now why did what you say bother him?"

Toad shrugs his shoulders, slowly looking up at Kitty. She is surprised to see the innocent expression on his face. Toad has no experience with any of this, she realizes. He thinks Forge tossed him out just because he didn't like what he said. That there isn't anything beyond that.

"Toad, what you said bothered him because he wants you here," she states. She watches Toad take this in, ignoring the weird looks she is getting from Bobby. She sighs when he looks over at the institute. "You should go talk to him. You probably don't know this but he's been really depressed lately."

Toad makes a little choking sound as he quickly looks back at the institute then at Kitty, his eyes practically begging for permission to go.

Kitty smiles and tilts her head in the general direction of the institute. As if she might change her mind, Kitty watches Toad hop away as fast as he can. She sighs, thinking that boys can truly be clueless at times. Just look at Bobby.

"Okay, can someone please fill me in with what's going on?" Bobby asks.

"Why are boys so clueless?"

"Maybe because you drag them around and have them talk to weird people without any explanation?" Bobby mutters as he crosses his arms.

"Don't call him weird. We agreed to give him a chance. It's what the Professor would have done," Kitty tells him as she fixes him with an even look.

"Oh-okay," Bobby replies. He watches Kitty shake his head and walk back towards the institute. "Women don't make any sense."

Meanwhile Mortimer is looking up at the balcony outside of Jon's room. Where he has been sleeping at night. Yet right now he feels terrified to go up there. What if Kitty is wrong? What if it's a bad joke? Or worse? Then he remembers what Logan had told him. If he can't work on the wall, then he can help him with his work. But there is something he has to do first.

Gathering up his nerve, he licks his hands and hops up to the wall. Slowly he makes his way up then pulls himself up and over the railing. He isn't surprised to see no one there. The blankets from before are still there. Again he wonders why Jon never brought his in. There is also a plate with a sandwich and a small bag of chips. A bottle of cherry coke was next to it.

Carefully he goes to the glass door and peers in. He doesn't see anything right away. So he opens the door slowly and steps inside. His eyes scan the room. No engineer. He steps back out to the balcony but leaves the door open. He could wait. He sits down and picks up the sandwich. Not sure what the meat is but at least it's not egg salad. He takes a bite out of it and waits.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 11
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later, Jon drops out from the inner parts of the X-jet. He wipes his oiled gloves with a rag from his pocket and looks over his work. Not bad. Only some minor adjustments to be made but nothing important. As is, it's ready to go.

He stretches his arms and wonders what time it is. One of the few drawbacks of his power is that he can't seem to stop himself until whatever he is doing is finished. Well, he could stop physically but his mind on the other hand...it was just easier to finish it. While he's like that though, he loses all track of time. There's been more than a few sleepless nights in his past because of this. Then there are those few rare times where his body doesn't even stop while he's sleeping. He really hates those moments.

But he accomplished what he planned to do once Jean told him that Logan wanted the jet fixed. It had ended up being a bigger job then he thought at the time. Then he realized he hasn't been doing nearly as much work as late. He sighs when he thinks what condition the Danger Room must be in. At least he knows what he will be doing tomorrow, after he finishes the minor adjustments on the jet.

For now, it's time to call it a night. He starts to leave the hanger but stops at the doorway. He remembers that there is still something he needs to do. He leans against the doorway and looks back at the jet. Why can't everything be as simple as putting the jet together or working in the Danger Room or setting up Cerebro? Things he knows. Things he's confident in.

"What you tinkering with Jhonny?" A voice from his past asks.

"Just something that can help my team out," Jon answers out loud, despite knowing the source of the voice can't hear him.

"Always tinkering. Hiding yourself away. Even neglecting your lessons with Naze," the voice comments.

"I'm not hiding," Jon mutters.

"It wasn't your fault Jhonny. You shouldn't be afraid. Move on already," the voice tells him.

Jon sighs, not noticing that he can see his breath. Instead he looks across the hanger and see's the source of the voice. A man younger than Jon is leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His hair is pulled back into a small pony tail, his eyes bright with playfulness. He gives Jon a charming smile.

"Afraid?" Jon asks the spectral form.

"That's what I said. You gonna hide from me too?" It asks him.

Jon takes a deep breath. Slowly his laid back demeanor changes. He stands up straighter, his shoulders back. The mellow expression on his face gives way to a much serious almost no nonsense one. The most drastic change is his eyes, which seems to age with each blink. This is a side of him that his team mates rarely ever see.

"No, I am not going to hide from you," Jon replies firmly.

"About time Jhonny. About time. So, you done with Naze?" It asks him.

"It's in the past, that's all I'll say," Jon answers.

"That's all you seem to say. How many of your team mates know your past?"

"Only one of them. Two have an idea."

"No one knows the real you then. That's a darn shame Jhonny. I think you would find things would be quite different if you didn't hide it. It's nothing to be ashamed about," the spectral form tells him as it drifts closer to him.

"They don't need to know. It's in the past and I've moved on," Jon argues.

"Well, you're trying. But if you had truly moved on like you said Jhonny, you wouldn't have summoned me here."

Jon doesn't say anything, instead he lowers his eyes.

"Do you really plan to let the guilt hold you back? I have already forgiven you. Not that I needed to. It wasn't your fault," the spectral tells him, stopping right in front of him. 

"You're dead Alex. Had I acted sooner, you wouldn't be," Jon mutters.

"No Jhonny. It was my time. There was nothing you could have done. And even if you could somehow acted sooner, what condition would I have been in? You didn't come out of it exactly un-scratched. So let your guilt go. If you won't stop hiding then stop acting like you don't know what's happening here," the ghost form scolds, pointing a finger at Jon's chest.

"Alex..."

"Don't Alex me. What we had, I know you will never forget. But don't use me to keep you from ever being happy again. I've been watching him ya know," the spectral comments with a knowing smile.

Jon feels his face burn again. Nothing more awkward than talking to your dead lover about someone who might be your new lover.

"I think he's what you need. And you are what he needs. If you are going to put the past behind you like you said, then let me go and go to him. Man up already!" Alex tells him laying a hand on Jon's shoulder.

"Did I really summon you?" Jon asks, his demeanor again shifting to his usual laid back self.

"Well, maybe I wanted to give you a good kick in the rear. It's really sad watching you act all blonde virgin like," it replies with a laugh.

"Blonde virgin like? You never could come up with a good insult," Jon says as he shakes his head.

"So shoot me. But seriously, stop playing dumb. You know what's happening. So let it."

Jon nods then looks at the spectral form directly.

"I miss you Alex," Jon states.

"I know you do. And I'm always going to be with you. Do you remember what use to make me happy?" Alex asks.

"When I'm happy. I remember," Jon replies with an eye roll.

"So go be happy. And don't be afraid to let him see the real you," the ghost of his former lover tells him before leaning close and giving Jon a kiss.

Jon closes his eyes and allows himself to remember the feel of those lips. He takes in a deep breath after the kiss, but doesn't open his eyes right away. He knows that when he does, he will be alone again. Suddenly he feels something push him from behind. He stumbles, opening his eyes and catching himself. With a sigh, he glances around the empty hanger.

"Was that really necessary?" He asks with a smile. Before any thing else happens, he leaves the hanger, hitting the lights on his way out.

A few minutes later, and feeling lighter than he has in some time, he enters his bedroom. Not surprisingly, when he looks around the room is pitch black. Turning on the little light on his goggles just in case, he examines the other bed. Not surprisingly he finds it empty.

He considers waiting to try to have a talk in the morning when he notices how cool it is in the room. He walks over to the source, finding the balcony doorway opened. He smiles when he see's the green form curled up on the ground again. Until he see's him shivering again. Making a mental to ask why the younger mutant won't use the blankets at a later point, he kneels down and takes one of the blankets.

But just as he starts to pull it over Mort's body, a green skinned hand grabs his wrist. Jon looks over and his dark eyes meet with Mort's. Neither seem to breath as they watch each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. Mort lowers his eyes in submission fashion and quickly releases Jon's wrist.

"Sorry," Mort mutters.

"Huh? Oh, it's fine. I didn't mean to wake you up," Jon replies quietly.

"No. I mean...about before."

Jon watches as Mort sits himself up. He holds the blanket out but Mort doesn't take it.

"Look, since meeting you it's like everything got flipped around. I don't know why Pietro dumped me here instead of the MRD. I don't know what everyone is expecting of me here. So I'm scared. I'm scared out of my mind and I don't know where to start. And...and you scare me the most," Mort shares.

Jon stares at the blanket in his hand. He suddenly wants to cover up and see if it's possible to smother ones self under a blanket. Anything that would stop the pain developing in his chest right now. Instead he says, "Mort..."

"I keep thinking about when your team came and got you...and you held your hand out...you have no idea how badly I wanted to take it. But I didn't. I didn't because I couldn't leave them. I knew what they would do. I knew what they were planning to do to both of us. But still, I couldn't leave them." Mort continues as he struggles to keep his voice even.

"You were loyal to them. There's nothing wrong with that," Jon offers.

"I chose to betray them but I still couldn't leave them. They had to dump me. And...I'm happy they did. Even more so that they dumped me here. Because this is where you are."

Jon's breath catches at what Mort just said. He looks up at Mort who is still looking away, his head lowering slowly as if each word was weighing it down.

"But maybe that was a mistake. Since being here I have only screwed things up with you. It's not what I want to happen. Maybe I should have left when you gave me the choice. But I can't. I can't because I'm afraid of being out there. And even though I made you mad, all I wanted to do is...be here with you," Mort admits, his voice dropping. He refuses to lift his head and look at Jon. Besides, he believes he already knows what he will see. It's the same look Pietro gave him years ago during. If it's not there now, it will be soon for Mort decided to lay everything out. "When I saw you in the rain, I thought you didn't look all that special. Then I thought that was something we have in common. I wanted to see what else we had in common. That's why I kept sneaking around to see you. I don't understand it but I...I...I couldn't stop myself. And since then, whatever this is, it's stronger. I...think about you a lot. I'm sorry. I'm rambling. I just...man this is hard."

"Why did you say you are afraid of me the most? Was it because I..." Jon asks but finds himself unable to finish.

Mortimer shakes his head. "I'm afraid of how you will react if you...knew about me."

"Know what about you?" Jon asks. He watches Mort closely, his heart pounding in his chest.

"I...I think I like ya man. Maybe more," Mort answers as he quickly raises his arms to shield his face. Any minute there's going to be pain. Just like there was the last time. And the time before that.

He wasn't expecting the blanket to be thrown over him. He couldn't help but cry out and try to struggle when he feels himself being pulled.

"Easy Mort. Relax," Jon's voice tells him.

He allows himself to go almost limp when he realizes he is in Jon's arms. Swallowing nervously, he waits. Jon gently pulls Mort until he is leaning sideways against Jon's chest.

"Why have you been avoiding me until now?" Mort hears Jon asks.

"Thought you wanted me to stay away. When the others were mad, they made it real clear that they didn't want to see me," Mort answers, his voice slightly muffled from the blanket. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you...do you really want me here? It's fine if you don't. I can find ways to stay out of the way. I've gotten very good at staying out of the way..." Mort trails off, his voice rising in pitch. His nerves are giving out. He hasn't shared these kinds of thoughts in a very long time. No one wants to hear what he is actually thinking. Learned to keep those kinds of thoughts to himself. Or not allow himself to have them at all. All that is changing. And it scares him.

Mort hears Jon sigh.

"We should go inside and get some sleep. Unless you like sleeping out here?" Jon asks. He feels the form under the blanket shake it's head. He releases it and gathers up the other blankets, smiling when he see's Mort pull the blanket up and peek out of it. He brings the blankets inside and works on making his bed.

Mort enters the room after a few minutes and watches Jon work at his task. When Jon pauses and starts to look over at him, Mort quickly hops over to his bed.

"Hey Mort..."

Mort cautiously looks over.

"You get cold easily, right?" Jon asks, his back turned towards Mort.

Mort starts to nod his head when he realizes Jon couldn't see this. So he swallows to clear his throat. "Umm, yeah."

"So...maybe...to keep you warm we should..." Jon struggles to get the suggestion out of him as he gestures to the bed. He really hopes his room mate is getting the idea because if he has to say it, well, he might have a heart attack first.

Mort did see the gestures and he does get the suggestion. But he can't respond. He can't even move.

"You know, forget it. That...that was a really dumb suggestion," Jon tells Mort, his face burning in embaressment. What was he thinking? They had just gotten back on even ground. Now he probably freaked the poor guy out.

"You shouldn't....shouldn't suggest things like that. I...I'll take advantage of it. If you end up regretting it, it's your own fault," Mortimer warns him.

Jon looks back at Mortimer in disbelief. He finds Mort looking back, telling Jon that he meant it. With a smile, Jon strips off his vest and shirt. Mort watches him kick off his boots then his pants. Jon lifts the blankets and crawls underneath them.

Mort shakes his head as if snapping out of a daze and turns to his own bed. He had just pulled off his shirt when Jon calls out to him.

"Mort?"

Mortimer turns around and finds Jon lifting back the blankets on the other side of the bed.

"Didn't you hear what I said earlier?" Mort asks, looking at the floor but occasionally glancing up at Jon, the hope in his eyes makes Jon's heart skip a beat.

"I heard. And I can live with that. Besides, we're just going to sleep," Jon replies.

"Don't...don't you think it's weird? We...we don't know..." Mort asks quietly as he starts to tug on his dreadlocks.

"No, I don't think it's weird. Come on," Jon encourages.

Mort swallows and slowly walks over to the bed. A voice inside him warns him that this is going too fast. That there are steps to these things. And he doesn't even know what is happening between him and this X-man. But he ignores the warning. He crawls under the covers though he does his best to keep space between them. Jon doesn't say anything, just smiles kindly at Mort before laying his head on the pillow and closes his eyes. Mort watches the man next to him for a moment before a thought comes to him.

"What if one of your team mates come in and see's us like this?" Mort asks nervously.

"They will learn to knock first," Jon replies without opening his eyes.

"What if they...they mess with you? Because of this?" Mort questions, his hand clutching the blanket, readying himself to pull it back and hop over to the other bed.

"I'll tell them any complaints they have they can put it on a post it and leave it on the door."

"But..."

"Mort, it's fine. Go to sleep already. We can talk more in the morning," Jon tells him, opening his eyes ever so slightly to look at Mort.

Mort nods and releases the blanket. He watches Jon's eyes close again and after a few minutes, there is a light snoring coming from the X-man. Mort smiles. It is just like before, that night in the basement. After he had sneak down to the basement, he had actually dared himself to get a closer look at the helpless X-man. He made those same snoring noises as he is now.

He remembers the weird feeling he had as he got a closer look. And the strange thoughts. Like how warm is the X-man's skin? Does it feel smooth like his or rough? If he touched the man's chest, could he feel the man's heart beat? What about the muscles? What would it be like to touch his beard? Does the X-man always sleep with his lips slightly apart? Are they moist? How many times have those lips kissed another? What would they feel like if he kissed them?

Mort closes his eyes as his body shivers. He's not cold. Quite the opposite. Almost like he's burning alive. He wonders if Jon is just as warm. He reaches his hand out, about to touch Jon's exposed shoulder when he freezes.

It's seeing his hand that stops him. The olive green skin with a dark hand guard over the palm and his wrist. The cuts, dirt and even broken nails stand out to him. He forgot about getting them taken care of. And he forgot to take a shower which means he is filthy and he knows he has a smell. He pulls his hand back then slowly rolls over. If he wasn't so selfish, he should get out of this bed and sleep in his own or even out on the balcony for another night until he does get clean up. But he's not doing either. He feels guilty for laying here. Jon shouldn't have to sleep next to the disgusting Toad. His mind kicks him around for a few more minutes until the combination of warmth and Jon's snores lures him into sleep. Sadly, his dreams that night continue to tear him down.

Elsewhere, the man known as Hopkins is reading over some computer data. He is trying to ignore the heated gaze from the man behind him. When he can no longer ignore it, he turns around and faces the man.

"Did we do the right thing Moss? Blaming that mutant for the failure of the Sentinel Program?"

The MRD leader scoffs at this question before answering, "Do we really need to go over this again? Did I not provide proof that that particular mutant was in fact present when the incident occurred? And concerning his mutant ability, you yourself said he could have easily been the one who caused the failure."

"Yes, yes it's all true. Still, we don't know for sure. And to apprehend him only to force him to use his mutant ability..."

"You need to change the way you are seeing it. It's quite simple. He will be using his abilities to aid us in this current issue of us humans verses the mutant threat. They are a threat to themselves for Christ sakes! So in all honesty, he will be doing his own kind a huge favor. We just need to get him here and explain it to him. I'm sure once we explain it, he will be more than willing to help us," Colonel Moss tells the smaller man, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright. When you put it that way...and we could use him," Hopkins replies.

"Good man. God willing, you will be able to meet the man this time tomorrow," Colonel Moss tells him before turning and leaving the room.

As soon as the door closes, the man scowls. How he hates working with these pathetic office minion types. Men without the stomach to do what was actually necessary. Only good they are is providing a nasty headache. He let's out a deep breath then smiles. If all goes according to plan, he won't need to work with such fools like Hopkins ever again. He also won't have to read another report about those illegal mutant groups, the Brotherhood and the X-men. He can't wait to see Wolverine.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 12
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Mort wakes with a startled cry. Jon had woken up before him and apparently noticed the condition of his hands.

"Mort! Why didn't you say anything?" Jon had cried out. It was hearing his name being shouted that woke Mort and now he is looking at the frantic inventor with a sleepy confused expression.

"Say what?" He asks before yawning, raising one of his hands to rub his eyes.

"Don't do that!" Jon scolds as he grabs Mort's hand.

Waking up fully, Mort jerks his hand back. "What is with you man?" Mort asks, glaring at his room mate.

Jon blinks for a moment before sighing. "I-I'm sorry. When I woke up, I noticed blood on the blankets. Then I saw your hands and I guess I kinda freaked out," Jon explains.

Mort gives him a doubtful look before looking at the blankets himself. At first he doesn't see anything then his eyes reach the edges of the blanket where he had been clutching them when he first laid down. The spots weren't too big but they were there. Mort examines his hands and see's a bit of dried, smeared blood.

"Ah...sorry," Mort mutters, carefully getting up from the bed while making sure he doesn't touch anything with his hands.

"Sorry? No, you don't need to apologize. Just say something next time so I can take care of them sooner. Let's go," Jon replies as he grabs one of Mort's hands and pulls him towards the bedroom door.

When Mort realizes that Jon intends to take them out of the bedroom, he stops cold. Jon notices this and stops, looking at Mort with a puzzled expression.

"We...we should get dressed first. I need to get dressed," Mort tells him, pulling his arm away and hopping back to his shirt that is on the ground. He hears Jon sigh and goes to his dresser to get dressed himself.

Jon gets dressed while he makes a mental note to buy a first aid kit in the near future. He hopes it won't be needed but since Mort seems to prefer to deal with any injury rather than get it properly taken care of, it would be best to have one in case. Jon takes a deep breath as he pulls up his pants. He hadn't planned to wake Mort up this way. In fact, he hadn't planned to wake up Mort at all.

Whether from exhaustion or possibly comfort, the green mutant had been sleeping peacefully. Jon has noticed the dark bags beneath the amber eyes so he had planned to let his room mate sleep as late as possible. He was more than willing to stay still so he didn't wake him. In fact, he rather enjoyed the time he spent just laying in the bed they shared and watching Mort sleep.

When Mort had rolled over, facing towards him, Jon couldn't have been happier. Mort didn't look cute or adorable in his sleep. Nor did he make cute sleeping noises and thankfully didn't snore. No, when Mort slept, he was like anyone else in their sleep. The lines made between mutant and non mutant no longer existing. It made it easier to believe other lines might not exist as well.

Jon did find himself struggling with that idea however. When he had suggested sharing a bed, it was to see if maybe Mort could be open to being closer somehow. At least, that's what he thought. But he is still unsure of things with Mort. Does Mort realize that Jon wouldn't invite anyone into his bed? That that suggestion was more than a suggestion? That it was his way of telling Mort that he feels the same? Of course not. No one would have reached that conclusion. So Jon mentally kicks himself for not being brave enough to say he felt the same even after Mort had revealed his feelings. Instead he suggested they get some sleep. In the same bed.

Jon watched Mort sleep, wanting to close the physical gap between them and hold the fellow mutant again. Maybe never let him go. At least for a long while. And he didn't care if any of his fellow team mates see them. Logan himself could come berserking in and Jon doubt he'd even notice. Yet he kept the distance between them. He wants this to work. So he has to go slow. And as soon as possible, he needs to tell Mort his feelings.

Mort had shifted and one of his green hands stretched out, clutching the blanket, just touching Jon's hand slightly. This had his heart hammering. Gathering his nerve, he had twisted his wrist so his fingers could just stroke the green skin. It felt cool but not unpleasant. He closed his eyes and continued his light strokes.

That's when he noticed the tips of begin to feel moist. He pulled his hand back and looked at them. He saw the blood. Then he got a good look at Mort's hands. The broken nails, the cracked skin. When he had been stroking that hand, he had unintentionally opened a cut. He then moved closer, taking a closer look at Mort and saw the blood on the blanket. That's when he panicked. He knows he shouldn't have but couldn't help it.

As he pulls his uniform shirt on, he steals a glance at Mort. Mort is sitting in front of his pack, digging through it as if to be looking for something. He had an expression of pain on his face that Jon doubted had anything to do with his hands. Jon quickly gets on the rest of his clothing then goes to the door.

"Ready?" Jon asks.

"I'm fine, you don't have to..." Mort mumbles.

"They could get infected. Which means you could end up sick. I don't want that to happen," Jon tells him.

"Then...show me where the band aids are and I'll take care of it myself. No reason for you to...touch me," Mort replies.

"Do you prefer me not to touch you?" Jon asks directly.

"I..." Mort starts to reply, wringing his hands nervously.

"If you don't like being touched, I can understand that. But if you are just afraid of grossing me out or something..." Jon interrupts, "well, you need to get over that. There's nothing about you that disgusts me. So you want me to help or not?"

Mort stares at Jon for a moment before nodding his head. Jon leads him to one of the bathrooms and is about to go in after Mort when one of his team mates call to him.

"Forge!"

"Kurt, what's up?" Jon asks, glancing back at Mort.

"Logan wants everyone gathered in the Professor's room in thirty minutes. He said Toad is to be there too," Kurt tells him.

"Why does he want him there too?" Jon asks with concern.

"He didn't say. I'm sorry. I have to go and pass the word around," Kurt replies before vanishing with a bamf.

Jon shakes his head to dispel the brimstone smell then turns back to Mort who is watching him with a fearful expression.

"It's probably nothing serious," Jon tries to dismiss.

"Then why will everyone be there?" Mort asks.

Jon opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"You don't think...I will have to leave, do you?"

Jon takes in a deep breath and walks into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"No Mort. I don't think that will happen," Jon replies as he turns on the bathroom faucet, checking the temperature. "Okay, let the water run over your hands for a minute."

He turns around and notices Mort isn't looking at him or showing any sign that he heard him. In fact, he looks ready to bolt.

"Mort?"

"Man...I-I don't like this. It's never good when there's a team meeting," Mort says, his voice rising in pitch.

Jon grabs Mort by the shoulders.

"Hey! Calm down! It's nothing to get worked up over. This isn't the brotherhood or anyone else you've been with. And I'll be there right next to you, okay?" Jon tells him, his calm gaze meeting Mort's own frantic one. "Now, put your hands under the water."

Mortimer finds himself wanting nothing more than to believe Jon. Yet nothing Jon had said really quieted the voice of fear warning him that something bad is waiting for him. It wasn't Jon's words but his actions that ended up calming him.

He did as Jon instructed, letting the water run over his hands until the dirt and blood were gone. Then Jon had dried them off before sitting down on the side of the tub and began to carefully examine Mort's hands. Mort watched the man's face for the slightest sign of repulsion as he worked on Mort's hands. All he finds is concern. Jon's own hands handle his as if they were made of glass. Every time Mort would flinch, Jon would apologize. Soon Mort finds himself enjoying the care and sincere concern Jon is giving him. He didn't even to think to yank his hands away when Jon started to examine the scars on his wrists, instead he's grateful for the man's silence. When Jon states they are done, Mort is nearly overcome with loss.

By the time they stand outside the door that Jon says is the war room, or debriefing room if you prefer, the fear Jon had silenced, came back with a vengeance. When Jon asked if he was ready, he couldn't speak. So he nodded and sent a mental prayer to anyone that will listen.

Sticking close to Jon, Mortimer follows him into the large room. It is quickly apparent they are the last ones to arrive. They quickly sit down in the nearest available seats. Mortimer decides to take interest in the steel table in front of him until someone addresses him.

"Alright, here's the situation," Logan states, getting everyone's attention, "Today the MRD is planning to set a trap to capture mutants, registered or not."

"Sounds like the city wide raid they did for unregistered mutants awhile back," Scott comments.

"Except they are targeting any mutants they get. And they are not going building to building. They will be at the ports," Logan corrects before nodding to Forge.

Forge taps the steel table, making a holo keyboard appear. Mortimer watches his graceful fingers fly over the keys. Had he look up further, he would see a holo image of the ports at the edge of the city.

"Forge, explain their plan," Logan orders the the fellow X-man.

"Right. It's pretty simple really. The MRD has spread word that today at exactly five o'clock, there will be two ships that are willing to take mutants to Genosha for no cost," Jon shares with the rest of the team.

"That would do it. For many, what they charge is impossible," Kurt comments with a hint of sadness.

"I don't like how they are going about this but this isn't too surprising. Why all the concern?" Bobby asks.

"It's not surprising that the MRD are hitting new lows. But even this is going too far. The MRD are apprehending mutants for a different purpose," Logan states gravely.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asks.

"What Logan is referring to is that the MRD are not just trying to clean the streets of mutants these days. Instead, they are experimenting on them," Hank answers.

Mortimer isn't too surprised at the silence that fills the room. He would bet that this information would make Pietro stand still for longer than a few seconds. The feeling that something bad is going to happen settles in his stomach like a weight.

"So we need to save as many of those who are walking into this trap as possible," Logan states, breaking the silence.

"Before we go into that Logan, maybe we should excuse certain company. Why is he here anyway?" Scott asks, ignoring the look he receives from Jean.

"Forge, have you told him?" Logan asks.

Now Mortimer looks up, taking a deer caught in the headlights look.

"No. Not yet," Forge answers.

"Toad. What is your real name?" Logan asks.

Mort swallows before answering. "Mortimer Toynbee."

A list appears above the holo image of the piers. Mort's name is highlighted, blinking slowly.

"What...what is this list Logan?" Ororo asks.

"A list of mutants approved to under go experimentation upon being detained. Toad's name is on that list."

Mortimer swears his heart has stopped. He's thankful they they didn't eat breakfast yet because if he had, he sure he would end up sharing what he had with the rest of the team whether they wanted him to or not.

"Does...does it say what kind of experiments they plan to do? Or what will happen to those they use?" One of the team mates ask.

"They plan to clone mutant DNA. We can only guess for what means. As for what happens to those they use for this purpose, they are to be terminated," Hank again answers.

"Ter-terminated?" Mortimer repeats. He is now trembling before the others.

"Yes. Toad, I requested you here because this involves you as much as the rest of us. You need to understand why it may be in your best interest to stay inside while we handle this. I doubt the MRD knows you are here. But you should still be careful," Logan tells him.

Mort nods as he looks down at the floor. All he wants to do is hop back to their room and crawl under the bed. Maybe spend the rest of his life under there.

"Logan...can we be excused?" Forge asks, watching Mort with concern.

"We will be meeting at the jet at sixteen hundred hours Forge. You are coming with us," Logan tells him before turning his attention to the rest of the team.

Forge nods and gets up.

"Let's go," Jon whispers to Mort.

Mort doesn't reply but gets up from the chair and follows Jon out of the room.

After a few minutes, they are back in their room. Mort stands by the door, lost in his own thoughts. Jon doesn't like the way his room mate is looking, almost like he is not even there.

"Mort, it'll be okay. You are safe here," Jon tells him, hoping to sooth the younger man's nerves.

"No one's safe from the MRD. No one. And now they are planning to experiment me? Then..then when they are...when they are done..." Mort mutters, his hands reaching for his dreadlocks.

"Mort, stop. Calm down. Calm down."

"No! Didn't you hear them? They...they plan to dissect me! Kill me!" Mort shouts at Jon.

"But they won't. We won't let them," Jon replies.

"You guys can't stop them! And...and if I get captured, you won't come for me! Oh man, if I get picked up again..."

"Mort..."

"Man, why? Why me? Is it because I ran with the Brotherhood? I did that because I thought they could protect me somehow. I never believed all that mutants should rule stuff! I just wanted to be safe! Ever since I was born, everyone knew I was a mutant! But I don't want to be!" Mort shouts.

"The MRD just care about their own goals. It has nothing to do with your past. They...they just see you as a specimen for their experiments. Something to be used. They can't see you for who you are," Jon tells him as he scrambles for something to say that will calm his room mate down.

"I know that. I know they don't care about me. Like everyone else. I already know that. But still, I don't want to die," Mort mutters, lowering his head.

"You won't. And someone does care for you."

"Don't. Don't lie to me," Mort growls. "Not even you really care about me. Wolverine asked you if you had told me. That means you knew. You knew my name was on this list. And you didn't tell me."

"Yes, I knew. And I didn't tell you because I thought you would freak out. If it was my name, I know I would. I didn't want to upset you," Jon admits.

"Don't act like you care!" Mort shouts angrily at Jon.

"I'm not acting Mort. I do care about you."

Mort shakes his head. He begins to laugh. Just when he thought things might be getting better, he is brutally kicked back into his place. There is no better for someone like him. He was being stupid for even hoping there would be.

Jon is frozen in place. Mort's laughter chills him. And the tears falling from the amber eyes makes his chest ache. Finally he is able to get his legs to obey and he walks over to Mort.

"Mort, listen to me. I'm not acting. In fact, I'm a lousy actor. Ask anyone. I'm also no better at lying. So when I say I care about you, I mean it," Jon states.

Mort shakes his head. "No...no you don't. You can't. Even if you do, it's not..." This as as much as he gets to say before he finds Jon's hands again grabbing his shoulders.

But unlike the time in the bathroom, Jon doesn't stop there. Before he could even realize what is about to happen, Jon bends down and presses his lips against Mort's own. His bandaged hands instinctively raise to push the man off of him but stop when they touch the fabric of the X-man's uniform. After a moment, they drop to his sides. He watches Jon for a moment during the kiss before he slowly closes his eyes. He feel Jon's hands slide down his arms before wrapping around his body, holding him tightly.

When Jon pulls back, he looks Mort over for some sign of damage resulting from his actions. When he doesn't see anything obvious, he takes it as a good sign.

"I think we need to talk."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 13
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

'I think we need to talk.' That is what he said. And he knows it's true. Yet for the life of him, he can't figure out where to start. So far he has only managed to gently lead Mort to the bed after...after he kissed him. That was something he hadn't planned on. Not at all. But he certainly doesn't regret it. In fact, he is very tempted to try it again. But first he needs to talk.

"So...what was that just now?" He hears Mort ask, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"The kiss?" Jon asks, making sure they were talking about the same thing.

"Yeah...that. Why did you...?" Mort asks, looking wide eye at Jon.

Jon takes a deep breath. He needs to make Mort understand. Now. Before his mind can find ways to deny this.

"I told you. I care about you. In fact, I like you. A lot. And you like me, right?" Jon asks.

Jon notices how still Mort is. He isn't even sure Mort is breathing, he's that still.

"Mort?"

"This...this isn't some joke is it? Because if it is...I...I can't take it. So is it?" Mort asks, his voice sounding heavy with stress, as if he's about to break.

"No, this is not a joke," Jon tells him firmly, squeezing the fellow mutant's shoulders.

"So what, you...like me?" Mort asks, pulling away from Jon, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes."

"Why? Why do you like me? Do you get off on freaks or something? Is that it?" Mort questions.

"You're not a freak," Jon replies with a sigh. A voice in the back of his mind is scolding him. Did he really believe Mort would simply accept his confession? Knowing the little he does know about Mort, he really should know better. "And there is no one reason as to why I like you. Why do you like me? Is there just one reason?"

Mort turns away but keeps an eye on Jon by glancing over his shoulder. He thinks about his own feelings, feelings he's been struggling to bury. He has been able to do it in the past. He was able to do it when they emerged for Pietro. But why can't he do it for this guy?

Then he thinks about that. His feelings for Pietro. They had been strong, had to be or he would have left a long time ago. But he never dared utter them much less act on them. But thinking about those feelings, seeing if he feels anything now if he focuses on them, he realizes they somehow pale compared to these feelings stirring inside of him for this X-man. Feelings that won't allow themselves to be buried like any of the others. Feelings that scare him.

He finds himself shaking his head.

"So then, to be clear, you do like me, don't you?" Jon asks.

The question adds to his growing fear of the situation. What will be the outcome if he answers honestly? Will Jon laugh, revealing this all to be a sad joke? Or if Jon is telling the truth, and this isn't a joke, what will happen then? Does he want to find out or is he too afraid to?

"Yes," he hears him say, though his voice is so faint, he doubts the other man hears him. But he can't bring himself to say it again. Not when every muscle in his body is this tense and all he wants to do is jump out of the balcony and hop as far away as he can.

He hears Jon move closer to him. Any minute now the X-man will burst out laughing. Insults will follow. They always do. Stupid, disgusting Toad fell for it. He nearly utters a cry when two arms, one warm covered in flesh, the other cold metal but just as tender, wraps around from behind.

"So now that is cleared up, let me ask you this. How do you want things to play out now? We can just accept that we have these feelings but remain as room mates, friends. Or we could change things, see what happens if we let this play out. I know Iwant to see what happens. But the choice is yours Mort," Jon tells him.

The choice is his? Mort is thrown off by this. The choice is never his. Who ever he's around, they tell him what to do and he follows it. They don't care about him making any choices. They wouldn't trust him to make any choices. They wouldn't trust him. That strikes a cord in him. They wouldn't trust him but Jon does. That's why he is giving him the power to decide things between them. A thought that both terrifies him and leaves him in awe.

"What if you regret it?" Mort asks.

"I won't," Jon replies.

"But..." Mort starts to argue but let's it trail off, unable to actually think of an argument.

"Mort, if you ever have doubts or concerns, you can talk to me. Whether this becomes something or not. I know what it's like to having anyone take you seriously enough to even listen to you. But I promise you, I do take you seriously. And I will always listen to you," Jon tells him. "You don't have to decide now. Think about it."

Jon releases Mort and steps back.

"Don't pressure yourself. When you're ready, I'll listen. But I have to go and join the others now," Jon tells him, looking away to hide the distraught expression he wears.

Mortimer saw it though. And he finds himself turning around and watching Jon slowly walk to the door, obviously stalling. He wonders why Jon is not running to join his team mates, after all this seems to be one of the few times he actually gets to join them on some mission to save the world, or at least all of mutant kind. But Jon hasn't once looked like a man that has been waiting for this moment. Instead, he looks like he dreads it. Why?

Then it clicks for him. Somehow, Jon's earlier depressed opinion about being left behind has grown to be not even a concern. Not at this moment anyhow. Because he isn't focused on his own usefulness. He isn't even thinking of himself. He's thinking of Mort the same way Mort is thinking of him right now. He swallows nervously as Jon touches the door knob.

"He-hey! I might be new to this relationship thing, but...um...isn't there suppose to be...you know...a kiss before leaving?" Mort asks, feeling his face burn. He prays that sounded no where near as dumb to Jon as it did to him. Did he sound too desperate? Or worse, came on too strong? Too demanding?

When Jon turns around, he holds his breath. His heart is pounding so loud, he can't hear Jon's foot steps. When he see's the relief in Jon's eyes and the smile, he feels himself relax and a strange thought goes through his mind. He didn't screw up this time. He doesn't release his breath until Jon is standing before him.

Both look into each other's eyes. They can't seem to look anywhere else. Chocolate brown meeting amber colored orbs. They both hear their own racing hearts. But their thoughts have gone silent.

Had Mort been aware of his actions, he would have been shocked. He's not one to ever make the first move. But he is. He steps closer to Jon, a shaking hand seeking out the metal one. He is closing his eyes and slowly lifting himself up on his toes. There is a moment of fear that he will find nothing waiting for his lips. That in the end, it was all a joke. A fear that vanishes the moment when warm, moist lips press against his at the same time Jon's arm slides around his narrow body, pulling him even closer.

The two are so lost in the moment that they never notice the younger member of the X-men who phases through their bedroom door. Her call to get Forge's attention is quickly muffled by her hands as she takes in the sight. She quickly steps back out through the door. For a moment she stands there, starring at it as if she could still see them. Her hands slowly lower from her mouth.

"Wow....wow. That was both gross....and sweet! I have to tell Jean!" She says to herself before phasing through the floor with a grin.

Meanwhile, Logan enters an all too familiar room. As always, a sigh leaves his lips at the sight of his friend, laying on the bed. Charles Xavier trapped in a coma, doomed to wake only in a future that still brings him and the others nightmares. He hopes that one of these visits he will be told that they did it. The future has been changed. Or better yet, the Professor sitting up and greeting him with a smile. But this isn't that visit.

He glances at the computer screens that display the Professors stats before going to his side. Soon he will be leading the team to their next mission. Hopefully saving many mutants from becoming test subjects for the MRD. A thought that still makes him want to bare his claws and shred through the nearest MRD van. He needs to have a word with the Professor first though.

"Professor?" He calls out as he stretches a hand out to touch his friend.

The moment there is contact, Logan's world whites out. But he isn't alarmed. This is something that over time he has grown familiar with. So he relaxe and nods to the Professor who is standing before him.

"Greetings Logan. I had hope you would come," the Professor greets.

"I'm here Charles. Had to see you before we go. We're about to intercept the MRD's plan involving capturing mutants. Charles, they plan to experiment on any they apprehend," Logan tells him before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I see. Here I have witnessed such a thing myself. It's so the Sentienels may duplicate various mutants powers. Giving the sentinels their power," Charles tells him.

"So we have to succeed, is that what you're telling me? That we have to stop this?" Logan asks, though he knows the answers. He doesn't need Charles to tell him.

"Every small battle you win is a war prevented Logan. I only wish I could aid you in these battles," Charles replies.

"You do. If it wasn't for you, the team would have split by now. None of them are thrilled that I'm their leader. Heck, I'm not happy about it myself. I shouldn't be leading them. Trying to figure out our next move, trying to keep everyone together, even being able to handle the small stuff...none of it is for me Charles," Logan tells him.

"Yet there is no one else Logan. But it's not the role that is bothering you, is it? It's something else," Charles points out knowingly.

"Yeah, there's something I can't wrap my head around. Recently the Brotherhood kidnapped Forge. We received a call and were able to rescue him. Then something was dropped off on our doorstep. Someone," Logan explains.

"Who?"

"Toad. And he was the one who called us, gave us the location of Forge. It seems that he got kicked out of the Brotherhood because of that. And they decided to dump him on our doorstep instead of the MRD."

"I see. And what has his behavior been like? Does he seem suspicious?" Charles questions.

"Actually, no. He has been trying to stay out of the way. He was repairing the wall by himself without anyone asking him to. Storm's talked to him. So has Kitty and Bobby. No incidents yet," Logan shares with him.

"So where is the concern?"

"I think...this is strange for me to say but I think Forge is growing...attached," Logan says with a sigh, now rubbing his temples.

"Attached?" Charles asks, hiding a smile of amusement.

"I think they may...form some sort of relationship. Which I don't personal care about but the rest of the team..."

"If you support them, then the rest of the team will follow your example. Besides, in these times, whatever happiness they manage to accomplish to obtain, who are we to deny them?" Charles asks.

"You're right. I'm just...I don't look forward to dealing with that. Personal relations is not my strong suit Charles. Heck, me and personal don't along period," Logan groans. "I thought of splitting them up..."

"And what would that accomplish? I believe such a brash action would cause more trouble than simply letting them be. Trust them Logan. Let them figure this out and support them. Maybe even consider Toad becoming part of the team. You could use all the help you can get in the battles ahead," Charles suggest as he pats the man on the shoulder.

"I'll...consider it. I better go Charles. The team is waiting for me. Stay safe," Logan wishes him.

"The same to you my friend," Charles replies for vanishing before Logan's eyes.

With a blink, Logan finds himself back in the room with the Professor laying next to him.

"It's always good talking to us Charles," he mutters before leaving the room, readying himself for what is to come.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 14
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

"This way! Over here!" Forge shouts over the chaos to a group of running mutants. He is relieved when they make their way towards him. His only task during this mission is to direct as many fellow mutants as he can to the Blackbird. And try not to get apprehended himself of course.

Not too far off is his team mates taking out the group's of MRD that had been waiting to do a surprise round up of those that walked into their trap. They weren't prepared for the X-men to show up apparently.

A kid with bright orange hair slowly leaves his hiding spot behind some crates and is now looking about with confusion and uncertainty.

"Hey Kid! This way!" Forge yells, waving his hands in an attempt to get the kids attention. It seems to work for the kid makes a run in his direction. However, two MRD soldiers are right behind him.

Forge leaps from the Blackbird's platform, heading straight for the kid when he trips on his unties shoe strings. He manages to get to the kid first and quickly lifts him before running back towards the jet with the MRD very close behind him.

"Need some help!" Forge shouts into his comm.

"Always ready to help a friend," he hears Kurt reply over the comm.

Forge looks back just in time to see Kurt appear above the two men. Quickly he grabs them by the head, smacking them together and successfully knocking them out.

"Thanks Kurt!" He replies as he gets back on the jet.

"Forge, I don't remember telling you to leave the jet," Logan growls over the comm.

"But I was..." Forge starts to explain.

"Not now Forge. Get ready to fly us out of here," Logan orders.

Forge sighs and releases the kid. He turns to the rescued mutants.

"Alright everyone, we will be getting out of here really soon. So I need you to..." He starts to instruct when something stabs into the back of his neck.

At a loss, he reaches back and pulls out the object. In his hand he finds an empty chemical dart.

"Guys, I've been hit with something," he reports as he suddenly feels his body weaken and his sight go blurry.

"Forge? Forge!" He hears someone shout into his ear. But he can't seem to focus on a reply. He see's the rescued mutants look at him with terrified expressions. Then it dawns on him. It's not him they are looking at but something behind him. He falls to his knees and slowly turns around. There behind him is a group of heavily armed MRD men with sniper like weapons in their hands. He can barely hear them.

"We have the X-man they want. We're taking him into custody," one of the men report as Forge falls down to his left side.

As his vision starts to go dark, he watches helplessly as the men approach him.

The largest of the group lift him up and over his shoulder. With his fellow comrades, he runs down an alley where a black van is waiting for them, the engine is running. The door is open but just as they toss him in, the back fills with dark purplish vapors.

"Sorry but he belongs with us," Kurt tells the men before suddenly vanishing with the unconscious inventor.

The men turn and see the large black jet the X-men arrived in lift up into the sky. They all mutter curses, one tossing his gun down in a fit of rage. The same large man that had carried Forge presses a finger to his comm.

"Mission failed sir, we lost the target," he reports.

Meanwhile, Mortimer is sitting on the balcony railing, waiting. Or more accurately, daydreaming. He has a slight smile on his face as he swings his left leg back and forth slightly. He has his right leg pulled up and his arm wrapped around it. In his mind, he goes over the kiss he received before Jon left. He blushes as he recalls how he had actually asked Jon for it. 

And beyond his wildest dreams, Jon agreed. There were no insults. There was no laughing. In fact, there was no humor in Jon's face. It hadn't been some cruel joke.

He still doesn't get how this is happening. He always accepted the bitter fact that because he is green, he is doomed to be alone. Not even worth a one night stand. And certainly not a kiss. He had just accepted that that was the way things were going to be for him. He didn't like it but he wasn't dumb enough to try to go against it. If he even hinted at doing so with the Brotherhood, like making a comment about Pieteo's sister being 'hot', they were quick to remind him of his place.

But it seems they were wrong. And so was he. Because, somehow, there is someone. Someone who isn't disgusted by his mutation. Someone who...wants him. Jon has to be crazy. Maybe even insane. But he'll take it. He'll gladly take it. He wonders if Jon wants to keep this relationship of theirs quiet. Hidden from the others. He doesn't mind if that's the case. But he should ask. The last thing he wants to do is mess this up.

He hears the roar of the jet. It's subtle, could almost be mistaken for distant thunder. The X-men have returned from their mission. He is sure they succeeded in whatever they had taken off to do. They always seem to when the Brotherhood ran them.

He smiles to himself. He looks forward to asking Jon about how it went, hearing the X-man ramble as he does. There is a possibility that Jon can't talk to him about the mission, which he would understand. So he would find something else for Jon to talk about. An evening of just listening to Jon sounds really good to him right now. He just has to wait for the engineer himself.

Meanwhile, Logan lands the jet. With a wary sigh he turns to the other mutants.

"Alright everyone, this is Xavier's institute for gifted children. A school for mutants. You are welcome to stay if you wish. Or return home. We transport you safely if need be. Choice is yours folks. X-men, help them out," he orders.

Beast slowly makes his way through the crowd to have a word with Logan.

"And what about Forge? I scanned the substance he had been injected with. It was nothing more than a strong tranquilizer. He's in no danger. Just will be out for the next few hours," Hank tells him.

"Ehh, take him to his room then. Keep the medical beds open in case anyone here is hurt," Logan replies.

Hank nods and walks over to Forge. He picks up the younger man, lifting him over his shoulder and leaves the jet.

A few minutes later, Mort turns to look at the door when he hears the door handle being turned. There is a smile on his face and he is ready to ask how everything went. But when he see's the large blue mutant carrying Jon, the smile vanishes.

"Wh-wh-what happened?! Is he hurt?! Will he be okay?!" Mort questions, hopping from the balcony railing into the bedroom, trying to see if there is anything visibly wrong with Jon as the fellow mutant lays him down on the bed.

"Forge will be fine. He had been knocked out. He should wake up after a few hours. Would you mind keeping an eye on him? When he wakes, have him come down to the infirmary for a look over, just to be on the safe side," Hank tells the worrying green mutant.

Mort nods, his voice caught in his throat. Jon had been knocked out in some fight. But he's not hurt. Still, the idea scares him. Is this X-man sure Jon isn't hurt? Is he sure Jon will wake up?

The X-man nods in return and leaves the bedroom, his mind briefly working out his surprise at the concern Toad has just displayed for Forge. When he is gone, Mort stands there and stares at the sleeping Forge. He really wants to know what happened. How did Jon get knocked out? How much danger was he in? Is he still in danger somehow?

Minutes pass as he watches the X-man. Then slowly, timidly, he pulls down the blanket from under the X-man and pulls it over the man. He turns towards the light switch and with a flick of his tongue, he hits the light. Then he carefully climbs onto the bed, sitting against the headboard. In the dark, he watches the X-man sleep.

A few hours later, Logan is sitting in Charles office. Scott and Ororo are with him, giving him a report.

"It's unclear how many mutants the MRD managed to take into custody. But it seems that we were able to rescue most of them," Scott tells him.

"Some have requested to stay the night at least and be allowed to leave in the morning. Hank says there were minor injuries. Most will be fine. It seems we succeeded this time. But there is something that concerns me," Ororo comments.

"Forge?" Scott asks.

"Yes. Did anyone else seem to notice that he was being...targeted?" Ororo questions.

"It looks that way, Storm. Those men...they weren't with the rest of the MRD. Something is up. But why do they want Forge?"

There is a few minutes of silence as they think this over. Finally, Logan sighs tiredly.

"For now, Forge will be staying behind on future missions. He will stay with Charles when the team is away," Logan decides.

"And what about Toad?" Scott asks.

"He can keep Forge company."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When It Rains
> 
> Chapter 15
> 
> Wolverine and the X-men fan fiction
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Wolverine and the X-men. Not sure who does but it isn't me. Please do not sue me.
> 
> Warning: This is a slash of Forge/Mort. Slash means guy/guy.If that disturbs you, don't read this.
> 
> Please leave feedback! :)
> 
> __________________________________________________________________________________________

Colonial Moss listens to the three sorry excuses of soldiers struggle to come up with a satisfying explanation for their recent failure.. For a moment at least.

"So you failed. Is that what I am hearing?" Colonial Moss asks.

"We weren't prepared..."

"So it's an issue of training? My training?"

"No sir...of course not sir."

"Tell me that at least one of you put on the tracking bug on the mutant. Tell me one of you were competent enough to do that," growls out Colonial Moss.

"I...I planted it sir," one of the men tells him.

"So one of you are worth something. You are all dismissed," Colonial Moss orders them, walking away. He doesn't miss the already familiar voice calling out to him. If only he could run things his way.

"What is it Mr. Hopkins?" He asks, his voice not hiding his annoyance. The corner of his lip lifts when he see's the man take a step back. At least someone knows their place.

"My apologies Sir. I was thinking..."

"Were you now?"

"It's about the recent ploy. Less than a handful of mutants ended up in our detainment camp. And the target..." Mr. Hopkins continues on.

"What is your point Mr. Hopkins?"

"Maybe we should...call off our plan to apprehend this mutant, Forge. We can still reinstate the Sentinel program without him," Mr. Hopkins finishes.

Colonial Moss looks over at the man, his eyes widen. "Hmm, what an interesting prospect. I suppose we don't need him. We do have many other brilliant minds at our disposal," he muses. Then he turns sharply, glaring down at the smaller man. "And while we are at it, maybe we should give up on the entire Sentiel program. Last the mutants we do have go free! And when they begin to burn the city around us, and they will, we'll just roll over. Does that sound good to you Hopkins?"

"I...No sir. Forget I said anything," Hopkins mutters.

"What are you talking about? I didn't hear you say anything. Now you listen to me. I want you to arrange the troops. And leak a little information for me. This plays out, we'll have that mutant building Sentinels before the week is out."

Back at the institute, Mort walks besides Jon. They had just left the office, having a brief chat with Logan. From what Mortimer could understand, things did not go well for the X-man beside him. When Jon woke up (and Mort, for he had ended up falling asleep himself), they barely had time to say 'hey' before someone knocked on their door and told them Logan wanted to see them.

So this meeting was the first time he had heard the details of their little mission. When Wolverine had started talking about it, he had actually gone to leave. After all, he was a Brotherhood member not that long ago. But when Logan asked him where he thought he was going...well, he quickly hopped back to his earlier position and crouched down, staring at the floor. Jon and Logan then talked about what had happened. How Jon had been directing the escaping mutants to the jet when one of them, a child, had fallen. Without thinking, Jon had ran for the kid and had gotten him back to the jet. But then someone shot him. Nothing lethal, but with something that had knocked him out. Now Mort knew why Jon had been carried to their room. Apparently there had been a second group whose target had been only one particular mutant. Jon.

Mortimer didn't know what to think. At the start, he was really in awe of Jon. He'd like to think he too would have helped the kid out but... Jon is a true X-man. And this made Mort feel pretty proud of him. Why did his team leave ever him behind?

Then Logan told them his decision. That until Forge seems to be off the MRD's radar, he will be remaining at the institute from now on. Mortimer then did something he never thought he would do. He actually argued with Wolverine. Well, questioned him really. It had made no sense. Okay, so the MRD are after him. He's got a super team behind him! There's no reason he put the guy under house arrest like he did something wrong. He might have been physically shaking when he said these thoughts, but he did say them. When Logan looked at him, he swore his heart skipped a beat. No way this was going to end well for him.

But surprisingly, Logan did nothing. He explained that even though the team would do anything to protect their own, things can still happen. Had Kurt not have seen the men who had taken Forge, they may have very well have lost him to the MRD. And with the information they have concerning experimenting on mutants...it was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

Here Logan explained why Mortimer was asked to come as well. He will be expected to help Jon in the maintenance of the institute. Specially with the upgrades that need to be done to the security of the institute. To Mort, he had been surprised to hear that he is expected to help Jon. He knows a little about mechanisms and such but it's not a well known fact about. Not like his smell and ability to annoy anyone. Then he realizes it is only a security measure in itself. Keeping the two mutants wanted by the MRD together is easier to watch over than if they separated. Still, Mort did like the idea of helping Jon and spending more time with him.

But now he's worried. Jon said very little after explaining what had happened. He didn't argue with Wolverines decision. And when he was dismissed, he didn't say a word. Now they were heading back to their room. Wolverine had said that they can get started on stuff tomorrow since everyone is worn out from the earlier events. He wants to ask but he decides not to. At least, until they reach their room.

Which happens after a few minutes. Mort closes the bedroom door and watches Jon sit down on his bed then fall back with a sigh.

"You...you okay?" Mort asks hestitantly.

"Huh? Yeah, why?" Jon replies, looking at Mort with a puzzled expression.

"Well...that talk with Wolv..."

"Logan," Jon corrects.

"Whatever," Mort mumbles with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, you got chewed out pretty badly back there. I should know."

"Chewed out? No, not really. That is just Logan's way of having a pep talk. Did it really sound that bad?"

"Um, yeah?" Mort replies, a bit surprised. Why isn't Jon reacting to this? He should at least be mad about it. Or something.

"Huh. Maybe I've just gotten use to it. Seriously, when Kitty goes off, it's a lot worse than that," Jon tells him.

"Yeah, kinda like Pietro can lecture you and you know it's bad but when Neena glares at you...well, if you see her polishing her guns, apologize. Quickly," he tells the engineer.

"Whether it's your fault or not?"

"Oh yeah! You've seen her shoot! Tell me if you would argue with her if she had you I her sights on a bad day," Mort challenges.

"I's rather argue with Logan. You would at least be able to see him coming with those claws. Which...thanks for speaking up earlier," Jon tells him, smiling.

"Heh...I am never gonna stop wondering if this will be the time he finally snaps and skewers me. Seriously, I don't even know why I said anything," Mort replies, looking away with embaressment.

"It was still really nice. Usually everyone agrees with Logan. Or point out some validating reasons why I shouldn't come along. Sometimes they even try to be nice about it. Most of the time it's just a long to do list that suddenly is very important. Same stuff, different day really. I might be an X-man in thought but when it comes to the field...I'm useless," Jon says with a sigh.

"You are not!" Mort argues, getting Jon to suddenly sit up from Mort's yelling. "Man, you are every bit as useful as your team mates! Even more so! You built that jet right? And you keep this place secure, right? I mean, Wol...Logan just told you he wanted you to upgrade the security here. He told you, not the others. And you saved that kid. That's something...not a lot of people would have done. People like me."

Mort turns away, his shoulders slumping. He didn't mean to say that last part. But he had to. He had to get Jon to realize that...he's more useful than he realizes. That he isn't...like him. If Jon was ever to leave the X-man, he could easily survive on his own. And with his power...he could be like the next Tony Stark if he wanted to be. Whatever Jon would decide to do, he knows Jon could succeed.

But as for Mortimer...he can only survive by standing behind others. Because if he is alone...he's done. The only useful part in battle had been his legs. But he refuses to use them in a fight. Bad things happen when he does. He shivers. He doesn't want to remember. Not right now. If he does, Jon might notice. And then Jon might ask. He has already showed Jon in just one sentence what kind of lowlife he is. If he was to tell him about those incidents where he did use his legs...Jon would never speak to him again. And he wouldn't blame him. So besides his legs, his only use had been to serve as a distraction. Now and then he did manage to do something useful. Steal Cyclops visors. Slime someone in the face. But mostly, he had been a nuisance.

Lost in his depressing thoughts, he didn't realize Jon had gotten up from the bed. So he let out an embaressing, startled cry when arms suddenly wrap around him, pulling him against a warm body.

"Wha..."

"As much as I appreciate the prep talk," Jon says quietly into Mort's ear, "I don't believe it. Not about my place, you're right about that. But about that kid..."

Mortimer sighs. He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to be this honest. Because he knows what is going to happen. But he doesn't want to mislead Jon either. So much for them being in a relationship. He pulls away from Jon and turns towards him, eyes narrowed.

"Look, I know what you are going to say," Mortimer interrupts.

"Mort..."

"No! You need to hear this. Whatever cute little fantasy you have about me, it ain't true. Because if it was me instead of you, I would have left that kid. Why? Because I'm too afraid of the MRD. Specially now that I know they want to...experiment on me. I ain't an X-man and for a good reason. I don't do the whole self sacrificing thing. And I can't do the right thing. Those are the facts. Sorry they suck, that I suck," Mortimer mutters. "And maybe...maybe you need someone that doesn't suck."

"Whoa, stop right there. I won't argue with you about the saving the kid thing if you don't want me to, but telling me who I need, that I will argue with you about. Because I know what I need. And I don't want to give it up so soon! I mean, we haven't even gone on a date or anything. So please, I'll do anything as long as you don't threaten to end this. Not this soon," Jon pleas, his words showing his desperation.

"Jon..." Mortimer looks at the X-man. He doesn't like the idea either. In fact there is a part of him telling him to apologize and take it back. It tells him that this might be his one and only chance to experience what it would be like to be with someone who believes they want to be with him. Someone who for whatever strange reason, likes him. But there is another part that tells him that when Jon gets to know him, know all of him, the man will be not only disgusted by him but horrified. And he is terrified of that. He doesn't know what to do, which voice he should listen to. "I...I need to be alone for a bit. Before we get stuck together," he hears himself tell the X-man.

The crestfallen look nearly breaks him. He had tried taking the middle ground and still managed to hurt the guy. It's the last thing he had wanted to do. "I'm sorry," he mumbles.

"It's...it's okay. Besides, I've never actually had a day off before. So...I think I'll just find something to tinker with," Jon replies, offering a small half hearted smile. Something went wrong. He wasn't sure how but it did. Things somehow became...fragile between them. If he is to have any hope of this working out, he better give Mort the space he's asked for. So without another word, he leaves the bedroom. He closes the door and takes the handful of post it notes that are stuck on it. They will give him something to do until evening. Maybe in the morning, things will go back to normal between them.

However, Jon soon fears for their relationship as the days pass. Mortimer has been silent, withdrawn. He follows Jon along as he does his various tasks. Jon had tried to talk to Mortimer a few times, just a few light, everyday conversations. But when it became clear that Mortimer was not interested, he gave up. So he settles for asking Mortimer to pass the various tools, and sometimes explains the idea behind whatever project he is working on.

When they stop to eat or call it a night, that is when things are at their worse. Mortimer eat very little if at all. More often than not, he would ask to be excused to their room. After that, Jon would find him either sitting out on the balcony or curled up in his bed. Jon couldn't bring himself to bother Mortimer so he would go to his bed and lay there until he fell asleep. Then it would start all over again. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take this.

Mortimer had similar feelings. But he doesn't know what to do. He knows what he had done wrong. He had gone and said way too much. These things are suppose to happen gradually. At least, he thinks so. But he...said too much. He's been torn about this for days. He had wanted to be honest with The X-man. Not to have him be deceived. Why...he didn't even understand why. He never cared about these things with the Brotherhood. Then again, they didn't really care.

But Jon does. So he feels that Jon deserves to know the truth about him. Still, he shouldn't have said so much. Why couldn't he just have shut up? Pietro always told him that he ran his mouth too much. Even Moss made similar comments.

He wants to fix this. But he doesn't know where to begin. All he knows is that he had hurt Jon with the truth and then by asking to be alone. And he has the feeling that he is still bothering the man. Hurting him even. He had tried to reply to the bits of conversation but he couldn't focus. Sometimes...he really misses how simple things were before. What he wouldn't give to know what he can do to make things go back.

Both men glance at each other as they lose themselves in their thoughts. For a moment, their eyes meet. That is until they hear some commotion, drawing their attention.

"What...?" Jon mutters getting up from the scattered parts. He had been doing some rewiring in the danger room, thanks to another all out exercise completed by none other than Wolverine. He nearly tangles his foot in it as he peeks out of the room.

He mutters a few choice words when Kitty runs through him. He hates the weird sensation that happens when she does that. And he swears she knows this.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jon asks.

"Wolverine is having everyone get on the Blackbird. MRD planned another sweep. Uh, I guess you and Toad though have to stay here?" She asks, pausing for a moment.

"Yeah, that's right. Be safe out there!" He calls as she nods and takes off through a wall.

He looks back at Mortimer who has his head cocked to the side with a very puzzled expression. "Seems the MRD are causing trouble again. You know, before we didn't really get in their way. We didn't like what they were doing but as long as they didn't cross a line..."

"Yeah, I get it. Pietro hated them so we always were making things difficult for them. Like wiping out all their records," Mort adds, thinking about the few times Pietro had come up with these plans to make the MRD's life a bit more chaotic. He agreed that Pietro had been right, the MRD needed to be stopped. After all, he had been in their cells more than a few times. In fact, he had kinda enjoyed it. Then he remembers that it was just such a plan that landed him here, not with the Brotherhood but dumped on the front steps of the X-men's mansion.

"Sometimes I wonder why Logan hesitates about getting in the MRD's way. After all, from what I saw of the future...they don't do us any favors."

"Wait, what? What do you mean, from what you saw of the future?" Mortimer asks.

"The Professor. He showed us a vision on the future. It...was really bad," Jon replies. The memory of what he had seen keeps away the joy he could possibly have at the fact this is the most Mortimer has spoken to him in days.

"And the MRD?"

"They were clearly the enemy."

"So...Pietro was right," Mort says quietly.

"Yeah. It's what we have been trying to stop. Not sure how good we are doing though," Jon admits.

"Wait...that one time...when we had got that one dude out, Nitro...Wolverine told Pietro that had you guys not stopped us... Nitro would have wiped out Genosha. Is that how he knew?" Mort asks.

"Yes," Jon answers. He remembers that little event. Or at least hearing about it later. It's also why Wolverine agreed to Nitro's wish to be returned to the MRD's detainment camp. The guy wanted nothing more than to be put away so he would not be able to hurt anyone else for his power was uncontrollable. He watches Mort slump a little, as if he's on the verge of passing out. "Mort? Are you okay?"

"So that's why. I...I just thought he was...bluffing or something. I didn't get why Pietro believed him. And afterwards...I thought Pietro and the others were mad only because I refused to fight," he says quietly.

"Mort, what's going on? You're not making much sense," Jon asks as he slowly walks back over to Mort, stopping dead in his tracks when he realizes that Mort is shaking. "Mort?"

"Man...why did I ask? Why did I even bring it up? I was better off thinking they were disgusted because I wouldn't fight. Not because...not because I nearly wiped out Genosha!"

"You? No, Nitro would have..."

"You don't get it. I told Pietro about Nitro. To get him to break me out. To not kick me out of the Brotherhood. To not leave me there. For that I almost killed..."Mort's throat tightens before he can get the last of the sentence out.

"Let me see if I get this straight," Mort hears Jon say, making him go still at the icy tone in the man's voice. "You were at the MRD detainment camp where they took Nitro. And Pietro, your team leader, was going to kick you out of the Brotherhood then and leave you there? But he broke you out only when you told him about Nitro?"

Mort closes his eyes tightly and nods his head.

"What a jerk! No wonder why Logan was in a foul mood that week. I knew I should have made that thing explode on him or something," Jon grumbles as he crosses his arms.

"Huh? You...you heard me right? This ain't Pietro's fault..."

"Yeah it is. Look, he found out about Nitro from you right?" Jon asks, receiving a nod, "but only because he was going to leave you there. Get it? Had he done what he should have, which was to get you out of there without making you have to tell him about Nitro, none of that would have happened anyway."

Mortimer blinks owlishly as he takes this in. He does have to admit, it makes sense. Had Pietro just broke him out of there, he may have forgotten all about that Nitro guy. Still, he can't put all the blame on Pietro. "But...they were getting tired of breaking me out of the detainment camps. It...happened a lot."

"So? That's no excuse to threaten to leave you there. Specially not at a detainment camp. If they were going to cut you lose, they could have done it while you were still free. No, threatening to leave you there, that...that was just being a jerk," Jon finishes.

"Guess I shouldn't mention that he took a picture, huh?" Mort says, a small smile forming. He couldn't help it. Seeing someone get riled up, for his behalf, was nice to see.

"A picture? Really?"

"Yeah. Fred suggested it," Mort tells him.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about that here," Jon tells him.

A few minutes pass as Mortimer thinks about everything that was said just now. Maybe now was the perfect time to apologize for earlier. To make things right again.

But before he could begin to form the words, the room suddenly flashes red and an alarm goes off. He covers his ears at the loud sound and looks at Jon. "What is that?!" He shouts over the noise.

Jon is looking around in disbelief. The security alarms. These only go off if someone has gained entrance through both the front and back doors. After destroying or somehow bypassing all other forms of security that are in place. They need to get to the protective lower level, where the Professor is kept. And they need to get there now.

He grabs Mort's arm and pulls him to his feet before running out of the room, his hand keeping a firm grip on Mort's arm. All they need to do is get to the elevator then lock everything down from there and wait for their surprise guest to leave. Or for his team to come back. Logan hates unexpectiped guests.

There was only one flaw in this little plan. He had no idea how many intruders they were dealing with or how far they have come inside their home. His heart nearly stops when he hears the men charging up behind them. He slams himself against the elevator button, pressing it repeatedly.

"Come on, come on!"

"I...I think it's the MRD man! How did they find us here?" Mortimer asks, his fear evident in his voice.

"I don't know. Elevator's coming. Listen, once the door opens, get inside. I'll...I'll stall them if they get too..." Jon is cut off when he is grabbed and spun around.

Suddenly he finds lips pressing against his. When they break, he is about to ask what that is all about when he gets pushed, hard. He expects to hit his back against the closed door of the elevator so a startle cry leaves him when he lands on the floor instead. He tries to quickly get up as the elevator door closes. He see's Mortimer smile at him before hopping off, calling the MRD a bunch of wanna be security guards. Stunned, he looks up and see's the numbers decrease as the elevator lowers.

Shakily, he stands up. "You didn't...you didn't need to prove yourself. I know you would have saved that kid. I know you would have. So you didn't need to...save me!" He shouts, punching the wall. He could try to rewire the elevator and go back up. But he can't leave the Professor alone, unprotected. But he is very tempted to do just that. May the Professor forgive him if he ever reads his thoughts. So instead, he kicks at the wall and curses in frustration, raking his brain to figure out how the MRD found them. And how he is going to get Mort back.

Meanwhile, Mortimer is hopping like mad. But soon he becomes cornered. Red laser lights are trained on various parts of his body. He knows what to do by now. So he raises his hands and lowers himself onto his knees. One of the eager MRD men steps forward to restrain him.

"Hold it," orders an all too familiar voice.

Mortimer swallows. So Moss decided to come here personally. But is it because of him or is he after Forge? Or both of them?

"What a surprise to see you here Toad. In fact this is the last place I expected to see you," Moss comments.

"H-hey Moss. How's it hanging?" Mortimer replies.

"Oh, I am doing well, thank you. Though a bit confused as to why you are here. You see, we were under the impression that this was a X-men hideout, not a Brotherhood hideout," Moss continues, pacing slightly.

"X-men hangout? Yeah right. This is just some school for rich kids. Thankfully, they are on break and someone left a window open," Mortimer lies.

"Really? Then why did my tracker lead us here?" Moss asks.

"Tracker?"

"Yes Toad. Tracker. It's about the size of a quarter and..."

"This it?" Mortimer asks, pretending to reach into his pocket and pull out the small tracker he had pulled off from the back of Jon's vest. He had seen it when the man had been trying to get the elevator to move faster. He snatched it before he kissed the man one last time.

"How did you get that?!" Moss demands to know.

"Got it last time we fought the X-men. I like shiny things that light up. Wish I hadn't grabbed it now that I know it comes with an army of MRD losers," Mortimer replies with a smirk, dropping it onto the floor.

"Interesting..." Moss replies. Mortimer isn't fooled though. Moss doesn't find any part of this interesting. And judging by the look in the man's eyes, what is about to happen is going to hurt. He knows this as well as he knows his own name. "I'm not happy to find my time has been wasted Toad. Not one bit. But there is an upside to this. You see, you have caught some special people's attention. They will be very happy to have you finally. But first, I think I will make sure you won't give them any trouble."

"Wh-what are you talking about man? You...you can't touch..."Mortimer starts to point out before receiving a fist to the side of his face.

"Times have changed Toad. And what I have in mind for you, you've had it coming for some time now. Throw him in the van. Don't bother being gentle either," Moss orders.

Mortimer looks fearfully at the men that begin to surround him. He knows this is going to be bad. But at least...at least Jon is safe. So he looks over at Moss and does the single most bravest thing he has ever done. He gives Moss the finger while smiling.


End file.
